At least 18 people were killed and several hundred injured as a seasonal Kalboishakhi (Nor’wester) lashed different parts in five districts of the country on Sunday midnight. The storm also left a tail of destruction uprooting hundreds of trees and flattened many tin and mud-built houses besides snapping road and rail communications and ferry services in the storm-hit districts, reports our district correspondents and officials on Monday.In Netrakona, at least ten people, four of a family, were killed as the Nor’wester hit Kolmakanda, Mohonganj, Sadar and Barohatta upazilas of the district, while four killed in Sunamganj, two in Naogaon, one in Sylhet and one in Rajbari. The deceased were identified as Afroza Begum, 22, her step sons – Sagar, 10, Rasel, 7 and Rana, 2, of Bishampur village, Mamun, 12, of Nayannagar village, Dipti Begum, 60, of Anandapur village, Ahaler Ma, 50, of Ranigaon, Soma, 9, of Mohanganj, Kadam Ali Munshi, 85, 0f Sadar and Emdad, 30, of Barohatta upazila of district. The woman and her sons were crushed to death as the tin roof of their house collapsed during the storm, which lasted for nearly an hour. Three other people, who were asleep, were also buried alive when their huts caved in the same neighbourhood on Sunday midnight.In Naogaon, two people were killed when the storm lashed some areas of the district, while in Sylhet, a woman named Alfasunnesa, 55, was killed as the nor’wester hit the area. In Rajbari, lightning killed one Farid Sheikh, 30, while he was fishing at Padma river in the night. A major tragedy, however, was averted when an intercity train heading towards northwestern Dinajpur derailed while it was crossing Bangabandhu Bridge over the Jamuna river at around Sunday midnight. According to railway officials, nine of the 13 coaches of the train were derailed and it was sheer luck that the train tilted towards the bridge instead of plunging into the river below. The rail service was immediately suspended over the bridge, which links the eastern part of the country with the northwest and southwestern region. However, the train service was resumed on Monday evening.The storm, however, came as a blessing for millions of Dhaka dwellers who heaved a sigh of relief with a light drizzle after two weeks of heat wave that swept through the country. Dhaka dwellers on Thursday experienced 40.7 degrees Celsius temperature, the highest in the past 54 years, said met office sources. It is to be noted that nor’wester storm is a seasonal phenomenon which appears in the country in early summer period every year.
