AGARTALA: A woman was killed and nearly 6000 people were rendered homeless in Tripura after a nor'wester ripped through the state for two consecutive days, damaging hutments and croplands and uprooting trees and electric posts, a government official said Thursday.
A tribal woman, who was on her way home from work, was struck by lightning Wednesday night, resulting in her immediate death, Sarat K Das, the project officer of the state's disaster management department, said.
Of the eight districts in the state, West Tripura suffered the maximum damage, he said. The NDRF and paramilitary forces have been put on standby for relief operations, with the Met department predicting more rain in the next 24 hours, Das stated.
"A total of 5,894 people have lost homes in the storm and the subsequent downpour. They have been shifted to 48 relief camps, set up in Khowai and West Tripura districts," he said, adding that water level in River Howrah, Khowai, Gomati and Katakhal canal have exceeded safety limits.
Subhasish Bandopaddhyay, the sub-divisional magistrate of Jirania in West Tripura district, said all affected families have been provided with food, water and clothes.
The process for assessment of damages have already begun, he maintained. The director of the regional metrological centre, Dilip Saha, said the state might experience more rainfall, but its intensity is expected to take a dip in next 24 hours.