Hailstorm throws life out of gear

ALLinDOON

Staff Reporter

Wed Jun 27, 2012, 11:30 IST

Dehradun: Broken needles of Clock Tower, traffic jams all over, uprooted trees and electric poles, damaged cars and motorbikes- all in minutes of nature's fury in Dehradun yesterday. The storm struck around noon yesterday and almost devastated the city with big trees crumbling and tin roofs flying like saucers.

The intensity was so high that a part of the tin roof of the GPO flew off and landed near Clock Tower. However, no loss of life was reported in the city. The hailstorm, which started at 12:30 PM, took everyone by surprise on a hot summer day.

A tree fell in the Doon Hospital campus, which damaged the 10,000-volt transformer, but it did not cause any damage to life as the electricity supply had already been shut down. Trees fell at Buddha Park and Subhash road hindering traffic temporarily. Amongst the two trees that fell in the Nagar Nigam premises, one fo them landed on a parked Scorpio but no one was injured.

A close shave for the people in the vikram near Doonga House, which was struck by a falling tree but escaped unhurt. Damage caused by the hailstorm was also visible at Parade Ground where tents and camps were uprooted at the ongoing circus and trade fair which also damaged the boundary wall.

The sudden wrath of Mother Nature threw disaster management preparations out of gears and exposed all the loopholes in the system. The administration did not have enough equipment everywhere to clear the roads, which led to long traffic snarls. Collapsed electricity poles resulted in disruption of power and the management is already working to repair the damage and restore electricity.

In the end though, the storm brought smiles on Doonites' faces that had been reeling under the summer sun for the past couple of months.