Nagpur: Gusty winds and hailstorm hit parts of Nagpur, Amravati, Wardha and Chandrapur districts on late Saturday night followed by mild rain towards Sunday evening. Standing crops were damaged while trees were uprooted at some places. No human casualty has been reported so far.
The regional met office has issued a yellow alert for Monday with thunderstorms accompanied by lightning likely to hit the region again.
In Nagpur district, farmers reported crop damage in rural areas and uprooting of trees in city areas. In Hingna tehsil, standing crops of cotton, chana and wheat suffered. Villages in Katol, Kalmeshwar, Kamthi, Umred, Narkhed too reported crop damages. Officials said an assessment of crop damage would be undertaken soon.
Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) fire service received five calls of tree uprooting due to strong winds. A tree fell on a stall near Janki Talkies while an eatery came under a tree at Sakkardara. Similar incident was reported on Zingabai Takli Kali Mandir road. A huge tree fell on a kirana store in Binaki Mangalwari, which was removed by the garden department.
Unseasonal rainfall and hailstorms have hit Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region, causing damage to crops, including cotton, wheat, gram, and tur. Nagpur, Yavatmal, Wardha, and Amaravati districts experienced heavy showers accompanied by gusty winds and hailstorms. The Meteorological Department issued a ‘yellow alert’ for Vidarbha, forecasting thunderstorms and rainfall in isolated areas.