Country’s first nor'wester kills 4 in lightning

16 March 2023

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Staff Reporter :
At least four people lost their lives in different parts of the country due to the first nor'wester storm that hit on Wednesday.
The storm brought with it strong winds, lightning, and heavy rainfall, causing widespread destruction and chaos in different parts of the country, including capital.
Of the deceased, three died in Shariatpur, while one in Kishoreganj by lightning.
The city dwellers experienced little rain around 8:00 and 10:00 in the morning. At around 10 o'clock, the clouds overcast the entire capital followed by thunderstorm capital. According to the Meteorological Department, 2 mm of rainfall occurred in Dhaka.
Our Shariatpur Correspondent reports: three people died and one got injured after being struck by lightning in the district on Wednesday.
The deceased include a teenager in Zajira upazila of the district, and a Saudi expatriate and a housewife in Vedarganj upazila, Jazira Upazila Nirbahi Officer Kamrul Hasan Sohel and Vederganj Upazila Nirbahi Officer Abdullah Al Mamun confirmed it to this correspondent.
Also, a one and a half year old child named Suramani, daughter of Salim Sheikh of Kacharikanti village in the same upazila, fell ill due to the loud thunder with lightning.
When the child was brought to Zajira Health Complex, the doctor on duty sent her to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) for advanced treatment after giving first aid.
According to local and upazila administration sources, Sifat Rahman of Madbarkandi village of Barakandi Union of Zajira Upazila died on the spot due to lightning while he was on his way home after picking garlic from a cropland.
Our Kishoreganj Correspondent adds: a carpenter was killed by a lightning strike at village Charpara under Karimganj upazila of the district on early Wednesday.
The deceased was identified as Tawhid Mia, 36, son of late Shahed Ali of the area.
Karimganj Police Station officer-in-charge Shamsul Alam Siddique said that a streak of thunderbolt struck Tawhid while he was working on his cropland.
Later, he was rushed to Karimganj Upazila Health Complex where doctors declared him dead, said the OC.
Our Sylhet Bureau reports: Chaitra is the last month of the year in Bengali calendar. It is also the second and last month of spring season. Chaitra month has started from Wednesday. And Sylhet is under the grip of the storm at the beginning of Chaitra.
On Wednesday night, there was rain in different parts of Sylhet along with storm.
The weather forecast for the last few days said that there is a threat of Kalbaisakhi (nor'wester) storm in Sylhet region. The Meteorological Department predicted rain and thundershowers with gusty winds.
According to the Meteorological Office, the sky of Sylhet was cloudy since yesterday evening. The clouds were also roaring intermittently. At the end of the night, the roar of the sky increases. The storm started. It was raining. Thunderstorm and hailstorm occurred at some places. Big rocks fell at different places.
Sylhet Meteorological Office Senior Meteorologist Shah Md. Sajib Hossain told that it started raining at 4:10 pm on Wednesday. Stop and go until 6 o'clock. 21.5 mm of rain was recorded during this time.
He said, now the pre-season (March-April-May) is going on and it is the pre-seasonal rain.
He also said that there is a forecast of rain and thunder for the next four to five days.
Earlier, PhD researcher on Meteorology and Climate, Mustafa Kamal Palash, said that from March 15 to March 19, there is a risk of strong nor'wester, hailstorm and severe lightning over Bangladesh and West Bengal of India.
However, due to the rains, relief was seen among the farmers. They were waiting for rain for the boro crop.