Bamboo poles lie on a road near Balasore Station Square after the storm on Saturday, disrupting the flow of traffic. Telegraph picture

Balasore, April 7: A cyclonic storm, accompanied by and hailstone hit the district this afternoon, causing extensive damage to property and throwing life out of gear. One person was killed after being struck by lightning.

The deceased has been identified as Debendra Das, 25, of Gabagaon village near Chandipur. His mother, Janjali Das, 55, was admitted with injuries in the district headquarters hospital. Marjina Biwi, 30, of Jankhrai in Sadar police station limits, was also hospitalised with serious burn injuries attributed to the lightning strike.

Reports said trees and electric poles were uprooted, blocking roads and disrupting electricity supply.

The district headquarters town and vast areas in the northern part of the district including Basta, Bhograi and Jaleswar blocks, have been affected. “I am waiting for a damage report from the affected blocks,” district collector Akhil Bihairi Ota told The Telegraph.

“Power supply in Basta and Jaleswar block has been severely affected,” said superintending engineer of Northern Electricity Supply Company (Nesco) Gobardhan Sahu. “The restoration of power supply will take some hours,” he said.

In the district headquarter town, road communication was affected as uprooted trees, hoardings and bill boards fell on the road. The stage and kiosks, which were set up on ITI Ground, for the industrial trade fair as well as Balasore Mahatosov, suffered damage.

Reports from Jaleswar and Basta blocks said the hailstorm also caused damage to the agricultural crops.

“Our kiosk has been completely damaged and some others also faced a similar fate. We have to set it up again,” said Sagar Das, who is taking part in the fair. As many as 421 kiosks had been set up by various industrial houses and other organisations. Most of these have been razed to the ground.

“A part of our stage has collapsed and a number of kiosks have suffered damage . We are trying to repair them. We are trying to hold the scheduled evening programme,” said Himanshu Das, president of Balasore Chamber of Industries and Commerce, which is organising the event.

“A fish-laden truck heading towards Bengal, whch was standing on NH -60 near Nandika bypass square, was pulled down the highway by the strong gale ” said Biswajit Rana, a local resident of Jaleswar.