Heavy rain and thunderstorms lashed Bhubaneswar on Saturday afternoon, uprooting trees, damaging vehicles, disrupting power supply and causing waterlogging in several areas.
Several uprooted trees and branches blocked busy roads near Kalinga Stadium, Jaydev Vihar, Nayapalli police station, Old Town and other parts of the city. Hundreds of personnel from the Odisha Fire Services and the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force were deployed to clear the roads.
Around 12 vehicles were damaged when branches fell on them near Jaydev Vihar. Power supply was disrupted after the storm and several parts of the city remained without electricity for nearly six hours.
At Janata Maidan in Jaydev Vihar, tents erected for the upcoming international trade fair collapsed.
Low-lying areas, including Jaydev Vihar and Mancheswar, witnessed waterlogging. Several thatched houses were damaged after trees fell on them in Saliasahi, Sabarpalli and Pathabandahi Bastee.
The showers brought relief from the heatwave that had gripped the city for the past week. Bhubaneswar recorded a temperature of 40.7°C on Saturday, while the heat index touched 47°C.
Weather officials said monsoon was likely to reach the state within the next week.
The storm came a day after Odisha successfully hosted the BRICS Disaster Risk Reduction Group Meeting in Puri from June 3 to June 5. The meeting, themed “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”, brought together officials and experts from eight BRICS member countries — China, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, South Africa and the UAE — to strengthen cooperation in disaster risk reduction.
Revenue and disaster management minister Suresh Pujari said: “Hosting this important international meeting provided Odisha with a valuable opportunity to showcase its globally recognised disaster management system.”