Normal life was disrupted in parts of Malda and Cooch Behar districts following a storm in the early hours of Sunday.

In Malda district, the storm struck around 2am and lasted for about half an hour, mainly affecting Harishchandrapur-I and Chanchol areas.

“Over 400 metric tonnes of mangoes were damaged in Chanchol, and maize crops across more than 20 bighas were destroyed,” said Malda district magistrate Nitin Singhania.

Singhania added that three houses were damaged and more than 10 trees were uprooted in the area.

The storm also knocked out power across large parts of the district, leaving residents without electricity until Sunday evening. Restoration efforts were carried out by the power department throughout the day.

In Cooch Behar district, Cooch Behar town witnessed similar destruction. Trees were uprooted, blocking roads and damaging houses, while electric poles were toppled, causing a widespread power outage in the civic area.

Rabindranath Ghosh, the chairman of the Cooch Behar municipality, said they were assessing the damage.

“We estimate that around 200 trees have been uprooted in the area,” said Benoy Das, the convener of Prajawaran Sangrakhan, a local NGO.

According to sources, teams from the power department and civic body, aided by the district administration, worked through the day to clear debris and restore electricity supply to the town.

Traffic movement in the town was also disrupted due to fallen trees.

Avijit Dey Bhowmik, the president of Trinamool Congress’s Cooch Behar district committee, visited the affected areas. “We are assessing the extent of the damage. Tarpaulin sheets will be provided to affected families and repairs to damaged homes will be undertaken,” he said.

Met officials said that a trough runs from central parts of Bihar to north coastal Odisha at 3.1km above sea level.

“Due to wind patterns and strong moisture incursion from Bay of Bengal, thunderstorms with lightning and strong gusty surface wind is likely to occur till April 17 in some districts of Bengal,” said a Met official.