Sudden thundershowers and hailstorms damage crops and houses in Tripura

The local meteorological department says rain and thundershowers are likely in isolated places across the state on Saturday.

Rainfall and thundershowers are likely to continue on Saturday. (File/Representational)

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Sudden thundershowers and hailstorms that followed hot and humid days damaged several houses and crops and uprooted trees in Tripura on Friday evening.

An official at the State Emergency Operations Centre told indianexpress.com that while rainfall was reported from different parts of the state, thundershowers and hailstorms were learnt to have hit West Tripura, Khowai and Sepahijala districts. Khowai and Sepahijala were the worst hit with agricultural damage being reported from both districts, the official said.

“We are still tabulating data and figures from the districts. But there are reports of some crop damage in Khowai and Sepahijala. A few houses were partially damaged and some trees were uprooted,” said the official, who did not wish to be named.

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However, he said nobody was injured as there was no report of any casualty.

A duty officer from the meteorological department said the temperature ranged between 36.7 degrees and 25.3 degrees Celsius while humidity was between 87 per cent and 54 per cent on Friday. Predictions for Saturday suggest the mercury might be between 34 degrees and 22 degrees Celsius. While the temperatures are yet to reach the level of heatwaves, they have soared way higher than usual this year, leading the government to shut schools for a week.

Meanwhile, rainfall and thundershowers are likely to continue on Saturday. “While the weather is likely to involve a generally cloudy sky, there are warnings of thundershowers with lightning at isolated places,” he said.

Scattered rainfall was reported from different parts of the state and the average rainfall was 16mm.

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However, owing to the prevalent weather conditions during the pre-monsoon season, temperatures are likely to hover between 36 and 39 degrees Celsius for the next few days, the officer said.

On March 21, a woman was killed during a thunderstorm in Khowai district. In October last year, Cyclone Sitrang left 509 houses damaged in the state. Though extensive storms were predicted, Cyclone Sitrang passed off rather uneventfully with some rainfall as the storm squalls got deflected towards Bangladesh and had a minimal impact on Tripura.