Video: 'Rare' tornado tears through Assam village

The low intensity tornado damaged four houses and three other establishments, an Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) bulletin said. (Screengrabs from videos shared by @Charlie_echo87, @Niloy44376362/Twitter)

In a rare weather occurrence, a tornado was seen ripping through Assam's  Barpeta district on Saturday morning. According to officials, no deaths or injuries have been reported.

Tej Prasad Bhushal, the Barpeta deputy commissioner, told Hindustan Times that the tornado was of very low intensity. "It took place at Rowmari village in Chenga area of the district at 10:20am and lasted for a few minutes. Seven huts were damaged in the incident, but no deaths or injuries took place” he said.

Bhushal added that the tornado started off from the banks of the Brahmaputra river, which flows close to Rowmari village, and was restricted to a small area in the region.

Videos of the tornado doing rounds on social media show it uprooting trees and damaging huts.

In the eye of the Tornado.
This one is in Senga of Barpeta district of Assam. pic.twitter.com/KVJHgSe0h5

— Niloy (@Niloy44376362) May 7, 2022

Four houses and three other establishments were damaged, an Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) bulletin said. 

Sunit Das, from the scientist Guwahati office of India Meteorological Department also agreed with Bhushal and categorised the tornado as a low intensity one.

“We don’t have exact details of the incident as there’s no weather observatory in that location. But from photos and videos of it seen on social media, it seems to be a light intensity tornado,” he told the Hindustan Times.

Today's clip of Tornado at Brahmaputra bank in Chenga, Barpeta, Assam. pic.twitter.com/dkduAR8rcb

— Charlie (@Charlie_echo87) May 7, 2022

“Most of us may not be aware, but northeast India is prone to tornadoes,” Das added. “But a tornado like the one witnessed on Saturday at Barpeta is very rare.”

Assam has been receiving heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms since April. At least 18 people have died in the state due to lightning or storms last month.

The India Meteorological Department had issued precautionary measures on Friday after a low pressure area formed over the South Andaman Sea and adjoining Southeast Bay of Bengal. According to the IMD, the weather system is likely to intensify into a cyclonic storm by May 8 evening.

Scattered light to moderate intensity showers are expeacted over Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Meghalaya, Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram in the next five days, the weather office predicted on Saturday.