Lightning claimed 1,625 lives in Odisha in last five years, says minister

Bhubaneswar, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) — As many as 1,625 people have died due to lightning strikes in Odisha in the last five years, Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari told the Assembly on Thursday.

Replying to a question in the House, Pujari said the state recorded 372 deaths due to lightning in 2019-20, while 338 people died during 2020-21, followed by 294, 334 and 287 deaths during 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24, respectively.

The data shared by the Minister revealed that Mayurbhanj district, with 151 deaths, reported the maximum number of casualties due to lightning in the state during the last five years.

Ganjam district reported 114 deaths, while Keonjhar and Balasore districts witnessed 111 lightning deaths each during the above-mentioned period.

According to information received from the Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (RIMES), Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar and Ganjam districts are the major lightning-prone regions in the state. Each of the districts has experienced more than 200,000 lightning strikes during the last five years, the Minister said.

Similarly, Angul, Dhenkanal, Koraput, Sambalpur, Kandhamal, Bargarh, Rayagarah and Cuttack districts reported more than one lakh lightning strikes in the last five years.

Pujari told the Assembly that an average of 6 to 7 lakh lightning strikes have been recorded per year in the state’s 30 districts between 2019 and 2024.

He also said that Odisha has reported the maximum number of casualties due to lightning strikes in the country due to thunderstorms in the last five years.

As a precautionary measure, people are being provided with early warning of different natural hazards, including lightning, through the Satark mobile application developed by RIMES, he said.

Pujari also said that the government has managed to reduce the number of casualties to some extent through early warning system and public awareness campaigns.

In particular, the state government plans to plant around 1.9 million palm trees across Odisha in 2024-25 at a cost of around Rs 7 crore.

Palm trees have a natural ability to mitigate lightning strikes due to their high moisture content and height, acting as natural lightning rods and conductors.