5 killed as nor’wester lashes country

At least five people were killed in Habiganj and Kishoreganj in a thunderstorm that lashed parts of the country, including Dhaka, Sunday evening.
The storm, however, brought people a relief from scorching heat as temperature fell following rain, especially in Dhaka.
The Bangladesh Meteorological Department said that wind blew up to 83km per hour near its headquarters at Agargaon in Dhaka amid frequent thunder claps and lightning. 
It recorded 5mm of rainfall during the storm that started at about 6:00pm and lasted for less than half an hour.
Police identified the deceased as Raful Miah, 45, 
a resident of Sujanpur village at Lakhai upazila in Habiganj, his neighbour Apan Miah, 40, and his relative Mayeen Uddin, 12, reported New Age Staff Correspondent in Sylhet.
They died being struck by lightning at about 4:00pm. 
Locals said the victims were among a group of four harvesting paddy in a field. 
The fourth victim was undergoing treatment at Habiganj upazila health complex.
Kishoreganj district relief and rehabilitation officer Mokarram Hossain confirmed New Age about the deaths of two people in lightning strikes at Bajitpur upazila.
In Dhaka, at least half a dozen fire service teams were removing trees that fell on roads blocking traffic at several points, including in front of the Prime Minister’s Office.
Fire service control room said that there were no reports of casualty, but a wall collapsed at Kunipara. 
It could not assess damage caused by the storm immediately. 
Meteorologist Abul Kalam Mallik said that the storm was expected at the time of the season when high temperature together with moist air created a great deal of thunderstorm-producing clouds. 
‘The activity is likely to intensify in the coming days and a severe thunderstorm is expected on Tuesday,’ he said.
He said that areas in Faridpur, Jessore, Kushtia, Khulna, Barisal, Patuakhali, Mymensingh, Sylhet, Tangail, and Comilla also witnessed the storm. 
Though tailbacks were reported in Dhaka and also power cuts, city dwellers were happy to get a break from dust-thick-air.
‘It seems as if everything around has gone brighter all of a sudden,’ said Faizullah, a resident of Hatirpool area.
‘It’s because the rain has washed away the layer of dust always hanging in the air,’ he added.
A 2012 study done by Kent State University found Bangladesh among the countries reporting the highest number of casualties from lightning. 
Lightning killed 1,212 people since 2012, according to the Department of Disaster Management.

News Courtesy:www.newagebd.net