Strong winds and heavy rain in state topple trees, homes and vehicles hit

Panaji: Sunday’s heavy downpour had the emergency number of the directorate of fire and emergency services (DFES) constantly buzzing with requests for assistance. The continual rainfall, accompanied by strong winds, brought trees crashing down on electrical wires, highways, and homes.

“There were a lot of incidents but nothing major. There was no loss of life or major damage to property because of the rain,” said an officer at the DFES HQ.

The Margao fire department received 17 calls between 3.24pm and 3.35pm. The calls kept the station’s emergency responders on their toes with reports of a tree falling on a vehicle and homes being damaged by rain.

At 7pm, a team of firefighters from the Margao fire station that set out in the afternoon had yet to return. “It was a busy Sunday. We cleared the tree that fell on the vehicle. The team with the tree cutter was going from one spot to the next,” said a firefighter.

Margao MLA Digambar Kamat visited the site of the tree fall at Aquem and took stock of the situation.

At Gogol, the arch of Damodar Devasthan temple at Housing Board Colony collapsed on a parked vehicle, though no injuries were reported.

At Bhoma, a massive mango tree was uprooted by the winds, making it collapse on the National Highway and disrupt the movement of vehicles. Commuters were stranded for close to 45 minutes as firefighters, police personnel, and local volunteers cleared the tree and the debris.

According to initial reports, one man suffered minor injuries in the accident.

At Madkai, a coconut tree came crashing down on a house, but none of the occupants of the house suffered any major injury. A similar accident occurred at Mulgao, where the branch of a mango tree snapped and fell on the house of a local resident.

At Honda, near govt primary school, the winds brought down a tree, blocking the road and leading to power cuts in the locality as the electrical lines snapped.