Nuwakot, April 11:

Dozens of settlements in the northern areas of Nuwakot were battered by a strong windstorm yesterday.

Houses at Tupche, Betrawati, Kahule, Sole, Jhikuri, Manakamana and Bhalche villages have been damaged in the storm and tin roofs of most houses at Solebazaar of Tupche village have been blown away.

The storm, accompanied by hailstones, started at around 4:30 pm yesterday afternoon and lasted for one-and-a-half hours. The storm has also damaged bridges, roads, canals, electricity and telephone lines.

According to Suman Adhikari of Tupche VDC, of the 23 houses at Solebazar, roofs of all houses except one belonging to local Krishna Poudel, were blown away. Electricity, telephone and television cable lines of Betrawati and Solebazaar have been disrupted.

Over 20 persons were injured and hoards of domestic fowls were killed.

Bhim Bahadur Raila of Solebazaar said he had never seen a windstorm in the region on this scale in 65 years of his life. The roofs of dozens of houses at Betrawati, Kahule, Phikuti and Manakamana VDCs were also blown away. The storm damaged buildings of Bhimsen Lower Secondary School, Kalyankari Boarding School, Chandeshwori Higher Secondary School, all situated at district headquarters Bidur. The windstorm also felled many mango and litchi trees.

Storm kills woman

ITAHARI: Dulahi Musahar (60) of Devithat, Sundarpur, was killed and her grandson Santosh was injured when a tree fell over them during a storm here on Monday. The storm damaged property worth Rs one million of some two dozen houses in Sunsari. Meanwhile, strong winds wrecked around 100 houses in Morang district on Monday night. — HNS