A severe storm has hit Sunamganj's Shantiganj Upazila, damaging swathes of crop fields, uprooting trees, and injuring more than a hundred people.

The storm hit the Upazila at 10:15pm on Sunday and continued until 11:15pm, according to locals and the administration.

More than a hundred thatched cottages were damaged in Paglabazar, Shantiganj, Kamrupdolong, Astoma, Raipur, and some other areas, said Shantiganj Upazila council Vice Chairman Nur Hossain. At least 20 tin-roofed shops in Paglabazar caved in, he added.

More than a hundred people, including women and children, were injured. "I got injured as the tin roof of my shop fell off," said Nur.

Trees were uprooted at different points on the Sunamganj-Sylhet highway, halting the traffic. The Fire Service and Civil Defence removed the felled trees at Iqbal Nagar, Shantiganj, and Paglabazar with the help of locals and the traffic returned to normal around 2am on Monday.

However, traffic was still halted at Dabor on Pagla-Aushkandi road as a 33KV electricity supply pole fell on the road.

Some domestic roads in Shantiganj Upazila were also blocked by fallen trees, disrupting the traffic. The power supply was also disrupted as electric poles broke down. The administration ordered the Shantijang and Pagla Upazila Health Complex to remain open to provide service to those injured in the storm.

”I lost everything. My only shelter, my house, was completely shattered in the storm. Another two houses next to mine were pulverised,” said Hossain Mia, a resident of Pagla Raipur Puranbari.

“I had to get seven stitches as my hand was cut after the roof fell on it. Many others were injured like me,” said Malikun Begum, a septuagenarian in the same village.

Amzad Ali, a trader in Paglabazar said he had never seen such a ‘devastating cyclone’. “It turned our homes and shops into ruins,” he said.

His words were reiterated by poultry trader Jamaluddin and food vendor Liton Mia. They too, lost everything in the storm.

Shantiganj Upazila Nirbahi Officer Sukanto Saha said they removed the uprooted trees from the roads after 1am on Monday and ordered the health complexes to remain open. “We informed the higher authority about the severe natural disaster.”

The thunderstorms, rain, and hailstorms damaged the Boro crop to a certain extent, said Bimal Chandra Some, deputy director at the Sunamganj Agriculture Extension Department.

Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Rashed Iqbal Chowdhury said the severe storm damaged houses and trees in different parts of Sunamganj and the local administration was drafting an estimate of the damage.