Tornado-like ‘Haathisundh’ stuns tourists at Odisha’s Chilika Lake, sparks awe and panic

Chilika Lake is a large, brackish lagoon located across the Puri, Khurda, and Ganjam districts of Odisha.

According to media reports, the tornado was seen southwest of Kalijai Temple, a famous spiritual and tourist landmark amid the waterbody, at a time when hundreds of tourists were enjoying the beautiful blue waters of the lake.

The sky-high tornado occurred due to a sudden change in atmospheric pressure. Before it disappeared, some tourists managed to capture the event in their cameras.

The tornado is being called 'Haathisundh' (meaning 'elephant's trunk'), a rare occurrence for Chilika Lake, famous for its calm waters and migratory birds.

The huge formation, resembling a water spout, caused the victims to scream and run for their lives.

According to local media, state meteorologist Biswajit Sahoo stated that the formation was a waterspout, which typically develops over large bodies of water.

He said such an event is rare in India and only a few have occurred in the last few years along the Bay of Bengal, particularly in West Bengal.

He added that the development is not common in Odisha.

An NDTV report said that similar events had been reported to have taken place in Chilika Lake in 2018 and 2019.