TURA, April 17 - Entire Garo Hills region was hit by a major cyclonic storm this morning that damaged houses and forced people to take shelter elsewhere. South West Garo Hills (SWGH) and West Garo Hills (WGH) districts bore the brunt of the storm.
The cyclonic storm today follows major damage in North Garo Hills three days ago and the earlier double hailstorms in Rongjeng village that caused extensive damages to houses and farms.
The situation could get worse with the prediction of cyclone �Mahasen� set to visit the entire North East in the coming days.
�Assessment of damages is still in progress but we have details of over 3,000 households in three blocks of Rerapara, Zikzak and Betasing, being partially or fully damaged in the storm,� stated Ram Kumar, deputy commissioner of SWGH. However, no one was injured in the storm.
The villages of Sulguri and Latrigre, Thakurambari and Garodoba along Assam border experienced the worst damages. Many schools in the villages areas have also had their roofs blown off by the strong winds.
The administration has announced three days of relief to the affected villagers beginning Thursday. Relief materials including food supplies are currently being rushed to the affected villagers.
The situation in WGH is similar with all the blocks, including Tura witnessing houses being blown away.
�Three people sustained minor injuries in Adinggre village. Around 700 households in 140 villages were affected in the storm,� said DC Ram Singh.
Electricity in most areas in Tura has still not been restored with the town witnessing major traffic snarls.
In North Garo Hills, the damage was minimal with the DC stating that there may be 10-15 houses partially damaged. East Garo Hills reported partial damage to houses in Songsak and Samanda blocks. Sources in South Garo Hills informed that there were no reports of major damages.
