BHUBANESWAR: A sudden downpour in Capital, whose residents were panic-struck after experiencing tremors during the morning, left the denizens running for cover on Saturday evening. The City recorded 44 mm rain in two hours which left many places waterlogged.
Heavens opened up around 8 pm and the rains continued to lash for an hour. Although the intensity dropped but drizzles continued till late hours. The showers left several low-lying parts of the City flooded and affected vehicular traffic movement.
The weather office said, a troughline passing over coastal Odisha accompanied by local conditions led to the showers. The sunny and clear sky conditions for the past few days coupled with southerly and south-easterly wind favoured the formation of thundershowers. Once the rains relented a bit, strong wind was also experienced in the Capital in the night.
Earlier in the day, the India Meteorlogical Department had predicted that thundershowers accompanied by gusty surface wind reaching a speed of 60 km to 70 km per hour will blow in some parts of Khurda, Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagada, Gajapati, Ganjam, Kandhamal and Kalahandi districts.
Though the showers during the evening were recorded only in Bhubaneswar, northern and north-coastal districts had received moderate rainfall during the day. Balasore had received 33 mm followed by 25 mm at Chandbali. Baripada also recorded 15 mm rain during the day.