At least 13 dead in storm in West Bengal; disaster management team activated

At least 13 people died in different parts of West Bengal because of rain and thunderstorm on Tuesday evening. At least four people died in Kolkata, six in Howrah, two in Bankura and one in Hooghly, reported Prabhat Khabar.
While many trees were uprooted, some electric poles also fell on roads due to strong winds. According to the weather department, Kolkata has not witnessed a storm of this intensity past 70 years. The speed of the wind was 84 km/hour at 7.42 pm, and went up to 90 km/hour.
The twin storms played havoc with the public transport system, as trams and trains halted on their tracks with the overhead wires snapping. Flight services were affected for 100 minutes at the NSCBI Airport as planes bound for Bhubaneswar, Delhi and Agartala took off late.
The Kolkata municipal corporation has reportedly activated a disaster management team to clear the debris in affected areas. Fire department, meanwhile, said that there were reports of fire at several places because of overhead wire snapping.
A flyover railing got uprooted and fell on platform numbers 19 and 20 of Howrah station. However, no one was injured. In Eastern Railway`s Sealdah division, train movement was disrupted in various sections.
Two mobile towers in Uttarpara and Hindmotor of Hooghy district gave way, throwing vehicular traffic off-gear.
The Kolkata Metro Railway services were hit when a tee fell between Dum Dum and Noapara stations, as passengers got stuck in the tunnel.