Heavy monsoon rains coupled with gusty winds led to a series of tree-fall incidents across Bardez on Wednesday, damaging residential properties and keeping Fire and Emergency Services personnel busy throughout the day.
The worst-hit areas were Aldona and Pilerne, where large trees fell on houses, causing property damage but fortunately no casualties.
In Aldona, a massive branch of a banyan tree crashed onto a house at around 12.30 am during heavy rain.
The woman owner of the house was alone inside at the time of the incident. She escaped unhurt despite the branch causing substantial damage to the roof and parts of the structure.
Personnel from the Mapusa Fire Station rushed to the scene and undertook a challenging operation to remove the heavy tree branch from the house.
Fire officials estimated the damage to the property at between Rs 25,000 and Rs 30,000.
In a separate incident, a large jamun tree toppled onto a house in Pilerne, damaging a portion of the structure.
Fire and Emergency Services personnel promptly responded to the call and cleared the fallen tree.
No injuries were reported, while the extent of the property damage is yet to be assessed.
Apart from these incidents, several other tree falls were reported across Bardez as incessant rains lashed the region.
The Mapusa Fire Station attended a total of six tree-fall calls during the day, while personnel from the Pilerne Fire Station responded to one call in Nerul.
According to fire officials, two tree-fall incidents were reported from Pirna, while one each occurred in Calangute, Parra and Siolim, in addition to the major incident in Aldona.
