At least 31 people were killed and over a hundred injured when a severe storm devastated four blocks of North Dinajpur district bordering Bangladesh, official sources said today.

Additional district magistrate PK Dutta said that the maximum number of 18 deaths occurred in Karandighi block while eight others were killed in Raiganj when the storm swept through the district midnight last night.

Three people were killed at Hemtabad and two others at Kaliaganj, he said, adding that two other blocks - Itahar and Chakulia - were partly affected.

Dutta said the toll might rise as detailed information was not immediately available from the far-flung areas of the district.

Civil defence minister Srikumar Mukherjee said the main police barrack in Raiganj was razed and many were injured as tin roofs of the houses were blown away by the storm.