Bhubaneshwar: On Saturday, there were reported cases of lightning strikes across the Odisha districts that claimed at least nine lives, with over 20 people being injured. The accidents entailed the deaths of several people, including a minor boy, while the lightning strikes were observed in different parts of the state.
A tribal couple from Mayurbhanj district, Lachhman Murmu and Sakar Murmu, died by lightning while they were involved in paddy transplantation. The deceased couple was trying to find a suitable place to take cover in the havoc occasioned by the storm when they were struck dead by lightning. In like manner, two farmers from the Bhadrak district, namely Amar Sethi and Hemant Barik, perished in their fields after being struck by lightning.
In Keonjhar, a boy of 13 years old was struck dead by lightning, while in Bargarh, 12 persons were injured by the same thing. The aggravation of the tragedy underlines the chronic and lethal nature of lightning incidents in Odisha, one of the Indian states where the number of electrocution deaths has been rather high in recent years.
Data collected from the Climate Resilient Observing-Systems Promotion Council reveal that Odisha has reported 10,741 cases of lightning fatalities in the last five years. The state has recorded the highest area-adjusted lightning death rate, estimated at 69 deaths per 1000 square kilometres. The state stands second in terms of the highest number of mortality due to lightning per one million people, with 256 deaths next only to Madhya Pradesh, which recorded a high of 261.
The parameters of lightning strikes in Odisha imply the necessity of improving meteorological activities and raising people’s preparedness for natural disasters. Measures to enhance the preeminence of early signals and enhance societies’ awareness of the lethal effects caused by lightning strikes could help diminish the deaths and hurts related to them in the future.
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