Shillong, April 5: A seasonal pre-monsoon squall lashed through the Khasi hills this afternoon, leaving a trail of destruction. The storm ravaged some areas of the state capital, leaving many houses roofless and drastically affecting power supply.

Around 1.30pm, Pynthor and Umpling areas here and Nongpathaw village in East Khasi Hills district were lashed by the storm. A visit to Pynthor and Nongmynsong revealed scenes of devastation: corrugated galvanised iron (CGI) sheets of several houses had been blown away by the gale.

The roof of the primary section of Saint Nanak Secondary School at Pynthorbah was blown away and a portion of a wall had collapsed. However, no injury was reported as students had already left the school by that time.

Neighbours of the affected families took part in damage control. People were seen rendering a helping hand to those rendered roofless. Some CGI sheets even got stuck between electric wires along the roads.

At Nongmynsong, at least three houses were rendered roofless. One of the houseowners said she had never witnessed such a powerful storm before.

East Khasi Hills deputy commissioner Peter S. Dkhar said 87 families were affected in the Pynthor area while 51 families were impacted in Umpling. Another 13 families were affected at Nongpathaw, which falls under Sohiong constituency.

Nearly 350 people have been affected by the storm, but there was no report of deaths, Dkhar said. However, seven persons suffered minor injuries. Strong winds are still lashing various areas here. Electricity wires had snapped in various localities, leaving the residents to reel under darkness. The storm also uprooted trees in and around the affected places.

The National Weather Forecasting Centre, India Meteorological Department (IMD) and the Union ministry of earth sciences had forecast heavy rain and thunderstorms, accompanied by squalls at isolated places in Meghalaya and Assam today.

The all-India weather bulletin has forecast thunderstorms accompanied with squalls at isolated places in Meghalaya and Assam tomorrow as well.

Sources in the IMD here said the weather bulletin was sent to the state disaster management force a few days back and it was being updated every five days. Sources in the department confirmed that today's squall was a seasonal one.

Tremor in NE: A tremor of moderate intensity, measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale, struck Meghalaya and other parts of the Northeast this afternoon. Sources in the IMD here said the tremor occurred around 1.12pm with its epicentre in East Garo Hills district. East Garo Hills deputy commissioner Cyril Diengdoh said there was no report of any loss of life or damage to property.

Additional reporting by Rining Lyngdoh