Extremely heavy rainfall, coupled with instances of lightning and thunderstorms, lashed Odisha’s twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack early on Friday. The thunderstorm, which continued for around forty-five minutes, took the citizens by surprise with its sheer strength and untimely arrival. Strong gusts that blew during the storm also brought down many trees in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, and several other parts of the state.
The trees damaged due to the onslaught of the gale were promptly removed in the morning hours. However, several areas were seen to be flooded in a preliminary analysis.
HR Biswas, director of the regional India Meteorological Department (IMD) for Bhubaneswar, noted that a peak wind speed of 93 kmph was observed at around 4 AM. “There was heavy rain in the early morning. Cuttack and its nearby areas received 7 centimeters of rainfall. Most of the coastal districts received rain,” he added.
Biswas predicted thunderstorm activity to continue on the 30th as well as 31st of May, with a probability of intense rainfall on the latter date. While both Cuttack and Bhubaneswar saw a dip in the mercury scale, many parts of northern Odisha continued to sizzle under the intense heat. The nor’westers come hardly a week after Cyclone Amphan, reportedly the strongest cyclone after the 1999 Odisha super-cyclone, hit the Bengal coast and pounded Odisha with rainfall in its wake.