Heavy downpour coupled with gusty winds lashed Hubballi for the second day on Thursday even as civic workers were busy clearing roads where several trees were uprooted after Wednesday’s heavy downpour.
Wednesday’s heavy downpour accompanied by gusty winds has left over 70 trees uprooted in Hubballi, causing the death of one person and injuries to two. Several vehicles were also damaged by falling trees. Some electricity poles too have fallen flat as uprooted trees took them down.
On Wednesday evening, rain lashed the city for over half an hour, but the kind of devastation it caused has left the residents shocked.
Several big trees in residential localities were uprooted following gusty winds. However, as HESCOM authorities stopped power supply as a precautionary measure, additional damage was averted.
According to reports, over 70 trees were uprooted in Deshpande Nagar, Pinto Road, Desai Circle, Vidyanagar, Vijayanagar, Shanti Colony, Old Hubballi, Raj Nagar, Ashok Nagar, Vishweshwar Nagar, Shakti Colony, KIMS Hospital premises and others. Branches falling off due to gusty winds also caused damage to vehicles parked beneath them.
The deceased person was identified as Robin Moris, a painter, who was returning home in an autorickshaw after work. When the autorickshaw was passing through Pinto Road, a big tree fell on it, killing him. The autorickshaw driver and another passenger suffered injuries and are recuperating. Branches of the tree also fell on a car which was behind the autorickshaw. However, the driver of the car escaped without any injury.
There were also reports about roadside petty shops coming under falling trees. However, there were no casualties as the shopkeepers took shelter in nearby buildings on witnessing strong winds. Passengers in a car escaped miraculously after a tree fell on them near Shreya Nagar. And, at Vivekanand Nagar, two coconut trees were gutted after being hit by lightning. As the sudden downpour left fallen trees strewn on arterial roads, there was traffic jam on several roads in the central business district after the rain.
Following the downpour, some localities in Hubballi suffered power shutdown for the whole night. Supply was resumed after removal of fallen trees and repair of severed power lines.
