“The hailstones were so big they made holes in the rooves of houses,” said a local affected by the evening storm.

Massive hailstones pounded southern and eastern Shan state, wreaking havoc on homes and farms.

The evening hail storm that struck Tachileik  located in eastern Shan State and Ywar Ngan township in southern Shan state several days ago damaged the rooves of hundreds of homes and destroyed acres of crops.

In Ywar Ngan township, the storm affected over 900 acres of paddy fields and over 200 houses, said Aung Soe Min, a Lower House MP for the township.

“There were so many losses. We had this kind of experience in 2016. Now, we are monitoring the damage caused to the affected areas,” he said.

Locals were afraid of the strong winds that came with the massive hailstones, a Ywar Ngan local explained.

“The hailstones were so big they made holes in the rooves of houses. Our area was really affected by these hailstones,” said Lin Tun from Ywar Ngan.

One local from Tachileik  said that he’s never seen hailstones so large before.

“They were so big! But it wasn’t only the hailstones; the wind that came with the storm was also very powerful!”

Preparations are underway for replanting crops damaged by the storm.

Hailstones also damaged the Shwedagon pagoda located in Tachileik.

Weather patterns are getting more extreme each year and it’s causing endless grief for farmers that are trying to cope with the climatic changes.