The nor'wester in its half-an-hour swoop razed to the ground most of the tin-shed houses in Kalshimati, Bonga, Bandibanpara and Shaibpur villages, the district administration said.

Agriculture Extenuation Department (AED) officials said it also damaged ready-for-harvest maize, one of the cash crops in the area.

Several hundred timber and fruit trees have been uprooted. Some of these fell on the Bogra-Dhaka highway, disrupting road communication for about two hours.