Kathmandu, March 28

At least 11 people, including four women, were injured when a violent dust storm hit the Kathmandu Valley this afternoon, affecting flights and the traffic movement and spreading panic among the denizens of the capital city.

According to the police, six people were injured in Kathmandu, three in Lalitpur and two in Bhaktapur.

Traffic flow was affected when electric poles fell – one near the Teku bridge and another at Shankhamool.

Two people were injured at Tri-Chandra Campus when a tree fell on them; they were rushed to Bir Hospital. At Machhapokhari, one woman was seriously injured when a zinc sheet fell from roof and hit her. Injuries to one person each were reported from Balkot, Sipadole and Khaling of Bhaktapur.

The roaring storm that lasted around 15 minutes causing darkness in broad daylight created panic among the Valley denizens. Traffic came to a grinding halt in different places for around half an hour.

Hoarding boards and sign boards of shops were blown away, along with zinc sheets, in several parts of the Valley, while shops were shut early in major business hubs, including New Road.

The Kathmandu Valley received 0.1mm of rainfall following the dust storm.

Tribhuvan International Airport, the country’s only international airport, was forced to close the runway for half an hour due to poor visibility.

Duty officer at TIA said two international flights — Etihad Air and Jet Airways — coming to Kathmandu were diverted to Lucknow. Some domestic flights, including Buddha Air and Yeti Airlines, were diverted to Biratnagar.

The storm followed by drizzle cleared the Valley skies that had been blanketed by a haze for over a week. The mountains on the northern side were clearly visible from Kathmandu in the evening.

The Meteorological Forecasting Division has stated that Tuesday would be mainly clear throughout the country but the hilly regions would be partly cloudy towards late afternoon; brief rain or thundershowers are likely to occur at one or two places in the hilly regions towards evening.