Bhubaneswar, Sep 5: Odisha has reported 1,625 deaths due to lightning strikes in the past five years, according to Suresh Pujari, Revenue and Disaster Management Minister. Pujari shared this information with the state Assembly on Thursday while responding to a question from BJP legislator Tankadhar Tripathy.
The minister provided a breakdown of lightning-related fatalities across the state for each fiscal year between 2019-20 and 2023-24. A total of 372 people lost their lives to lightning strikes in 2019-20, followed by 338 in 2020-21, 294 in 2021-22, 334 in 2022-23, and 287 in 2023-24.
During the discussion, Pujari highlighted that Odisha recorded the highest number of lightning-related fatalities in the country during this period. He noted that states with higher mineral deposits tend to have more lightning fatalities since minerals are good conductors of electricity.
The lightning death cases were reported across all 30 districts of Odisha. Mayurbhanj, a tribal-dominated district, recorded the highest number of deaths, with 151 fatalities. Ganjam district followed with 114 deaths. Both Keonjhar and Balasore districts reported 111 deaths each over the five years, while Boudh district recorded the lowest number of fatalities, with 14 deaths.
The minister also pointed out that Odisha declared lightning as a state-specific disaster in April 2015, as it is not officially classified as a natural disaster by the Government of India. The state government provides an ex-gratia amount of Rs 4 lakh to the families of those killed in lightning strikes, sourced from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF). Additionally, compensation of Rs 16,000 is offered to individuals hospitalized for more than a week due to lightning injuries, and Rs 5,400 for those hospitalized for less than a week.
Analyzing data from the past six years, Pujari mentioned that Odisha experiences over six lakh lightning strikes annually. Among the districts, Mayurbhanj saw the highest number of strikes, with an average of 72,000 each year, totaling 4.31 lakh over the period. Sundergarh followed with 3.02 lakh strikes (approximately 50,000 per year), and Keonjhar with 2.75 lakh strikes (46,000 per year). Other districts, including Ganjam, Angul, Sambalpur, Dhenkanal, Balasore, Koraput, Kandhamal, Bargarh, Rayagada, Bolangir, and Cuttack, also recorded over one lakh lightning strikes each in the past six years.
The Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA), in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) in Pune, provides early warnings and advisories on lightning through the 'Satark' mobile app. This app was developed with technical support from the Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (RIMES).
