Tornado hits Assam’s Barpeta village. IMD official said it is rare

A low-intensity tornado was formed in Barpeta district of Assam but dissipated within minutes on Saturday morning, a district official said. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said it did not have precise details of the tornado because the area did not have a weather observatory.

Videos shot by local residents on mobile phones, which soon went viral, showed a plume of dust rising up to many metres from the ground swirling dangerously.

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

He added that the tornado started from the banks of the Brahmaputra river, which flows close to Rowmari village, and remained largely restricted to a small area thus preventing large scale damage to property.

“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,” said Sunit Das, scientist at IMD’s Guwahati office.

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

According to the weather forecast issued by the local Met office, scattered to widespread rains of light and moderate-intensity over Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Meghalaya, Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram are expected in the next five days.

According to Sikkim IMD’s frequently asked questions (FAQs) on meteorology, a typical tornado appears as a rotation in a huge thunder cloud, descends as a violently rotating funnel cloud and sounds like the rumble of a freight train or a jet.

A tornado can last just a few minutes or a few hours, it said. A majority of twisters do little more than bend TV antennae, break windows, uproot trees, or damage weak structures such as barns and sheds.

The more violent tornadoes are the most devastating storms on earth. With winds approaching 500 km an hour, they can level even the most solid structures. The path of destruction can reach over 100 km long and over 1 km wide.