Storm lashes Jorhat, injures 16, kills 8 storks

A sudden storm with strong winds lashed Jorhat district in upper Assam today injuring 16 persons and killing eight Adjutant Storks, besides uprooting trees, electric poles and damaging tea bushes and farm fields.
The storm hit over 50 villages between Jorhat and Dergaon towns for over 15 mins around 4.30 am damaging more than 70 tin roof houses and injuring 16 persons, including three children seriously, police said.
The injured were admitted to Jorhat Medical College Hospital, the sources said.
The storm uprooted two trees where the Adjutant Storks were nesting at Dehotia besides National Highway 37 crushing to death eight of them and injuring seven others, which were sent to the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) in Kaziranga.

The storm uprooted hundreds of trees and over 20 electric posts cutting power supply in the district, the sources said.
Tea bushes in several tea gardens were damaged by uprooted shade trees, the herb garden of the North East Institute of Science and Technology, Toklai Tea Research Experimental Station, besides standing crops in 100s of acres of agricultural fields were also damaged by the storm.
NH-37 was blocked by uprooted trees for several hours affecting traffic movement before it was cleared, they said.