A heavy cyclonic sand storm lashed Guwahati and many other parts of Assam on Wednesday afternoon, leaving one drowned in the Brahmaputra in Dhubri.

This is the second such storm this season.

Earlier, two persons died and several properties were damaged as Assam was hit by a heavy thunderstorm and wind, locally known as bordoisila, on last Thursday night amid the nationwide lockdown.

An inland water transport official said so far no major damage was reported in Guwahati and adjoining areas as ferry services are shut.

The storm is experienced every year in the spring season. Bordoisila is a wild wind that is accompanied by heavy rain and thunderstorms and it marks the beginning of the monsoon season. A meteorological department official said maximum speed of wind reported was 42 knots. He said monsoon is expected to be normal this year. The massive storm lasted about 45 minutes, followed by rainfall.

Pankaj Chakravarty, the deputy secretary and state project co-ordinator, ASDMA, told The Telegraph, “Assessment of damages due to the storm is going on and we are not able to share the details right now. We are busy with the Covid-19 outbreak. We will share as soon as we get the details from the districts.”

A Kamrup (metro) district official said several trees, houses, roadside hoardings and electric poles were damaged in many parts of the state.

Power supply in most of the areas of Guwahati snapped for a few hours.

Other parts of the state are also witnessing power cuts amid inclement weather.

One Sher Ali, 56, died after his boat capsized in the Brahmaputra near New Ghat under Dhubri police station on Wednesday morning due to the storm.

According to the police, Ali was a resident of Ironjongla III village under Dhubri sadar police station and was accompanied by his son Mohor Ali. They went to the river for fishing in the early hours of Wednesday morning. However, their boat capsized.

In Hojai district, the heavy wind accompanied by rain blew off the tin roof of many houses, schools and signboards of many shops.

The roof of Raikata Sonaram Kemparai Memorial Jaitiya Vidyalay collapsed, so did a boiler farm roof made of tin and bamboo in Raikata.

In Maithigaon, a meji in the house of one Jasim Uddin caught fire. The heavy storm lashed Golaghat district around 4pm.

Ankush Dutta, the general secretary of the All Assam Tennis Association, said the cyclone has caused major damage at the association complex, Chachal, here. One floodlight post was uprooted in the tennis courts.

The dust storm also lashed Nagaland, mainly Dimapur district, on Wednesday afternoon. A hail storm was also reported in Kohima district.

No casualty was reported till the time of filing this report and the exact damage caused by the storm was yet to be ascertained.

Additional reporting by Nikhil Mundra in Hojai, Mukesh Kumar Singh in Dhubri and Bhadra Gogoi in Dimapur