Lightning strikes claimed 1,625 lives in Odisha in last 5 years: Minister

Odisha reported 1,625 deaths due to lightning strikes in last five years, state Revenue and Disaster Management minister Suresh Pujari told the state Assembly on Thursday. Replying to a question by BJP legislator Tankadhar Tripathy, the minister said a total of 1,625 people have been killed by lightning strikes across the state during 2019-20 and 2023-24.

While 372 persons were killed due to lightning strikes during the financial year 2019-20, 338 such death cases were reported in 2020-21 and 294 during 2021-22.

The state has reported 334 lightning death cases in 2022-23 and another 287 such death cases during 2023-24, Pujari said in a written reply to the House.

During the discussion on the question, the minister said the state recorded the highest lightning-related fatalities in the country during the period, adding that states with higher mineral deposits tend to record more lightning fatalities because minerals are good conductors of electricity.

As per the statement of the minister, the lightning death cases were registered in all 30 districts of Odisha. A maximum of 151 people were killed due to lightning strikes in tribal-dominated Mayurbhanj district, followed by Ganjam district, where 114 people lost their lives due to the natural disaster.

Keonjhar, the home district of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and Balasore district each reported 111 lightning deaths during these five years while Boudh district witnessed 14 such death cases, which is the lowest in the state, he stated.

The Disaster Management minister further told the House that the Odisha government had declared lightning as a state-specific disaster in April 2015 as lightning has not been declared as a natural disaster by the government of India.

The state has been providing an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh each to the next of kin of those killed in lightning strikes from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), he added.

The government has also made a provision for a compensation of Rs 16,000 if a person requires hospitalisation for more than a week due to a lightning strike.

Moreover, Rs 5,400 is provided to a person injured in lightning and hospitalised for less than a week, the minister informed the Assembly.

Analyzing the data of the past six years, Pujari said, on an average, more than six lakh lightning strikes are reported in Odisha every year, of which, the highest 4.31 lakh lightning strikes occurred in Mayurbhanj district (approximately 72,000 each year) while it was 3.02 lakh (50,000 in a year) in Sundergarh district and 2.75 lakh times (46,000 in a year) in Keonjhar district.

Moreover, districts like Ganjam, Angul, Sambalpur, Dhenkanal, Balasore, Koraput, Kandhamal, Bargarh, Rayagada, Bolangir, and Cuttack witnessed more than one lakh lightning strikes during the past six years, Pujari said.

With the help of real-time data provided by Pune-based Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), the Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) is providing early warning and advisory on lightning to the people through the Satark mobile app, which was developed with technical support from Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (RIMES).

Pujari said that palm trees are being planted to mitigate the effects of lightning. The Revenue Department has allocated Rs 7 crore to the Forest Department for palm tree plantation.

Besides, the state government has been creating public awareness for effective management of lightning, he added.