Assam’s Moran town in Dibrugarh district draped in white after severe hailstorm

DIBRUGARH: A severe hailstorm lashed upper Assam's Moran town in Dibrugarh district on Tuesday morning, painting the entire town and its surroundings milky white.
Residents of the town stepped out of their homes to savour the sight and many took to social media to share pictures and videos of the hailstorm that lasted nearly an hour. The Met department on Monday had warned of hailstorms in some parts of the state in the next 24 hours. “This is the first time in my life I have witnessed a hailstorm of such magnitude. The entire Moran town was covered in white resembling a hill station. People came out to enjoy the magnificent sight,” said Sagarika Baruah, a college teacher from Moran.
While the hailstorm was a source of delight for many, it also caused severe damage to crops and residential houses of the people. A PTI report quoting Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said a total of 4,483 houses were damaged across 132 villages in Dibrugarh, Charaideo, Sivasagar and Tinsukia districts. Almost 18,000 people have been affected, and the families hit by the hailstorm were supplied with tarpaulin sheets, it said.
The severe hailstorm lashed the upper Assam areas late on Monday and early Tuesday, an official of the Dibrugarh district administration said. The ASDMA report said 4,481 houses were partially damaged, while two structures were completely destroyed.
CM Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeted, “Have instructed officials to make a detailed assessment of the damage caused. Government is extending all possible help to all those affected by it.”