Bhubaneswar, Sep 5 (IANS): As many as 1,625 persons were killed due to lightning strikes across Odisha in the last five years, Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari informed the Assembly on Thursday.
Answering a question in the House, Pujari said the state recorded 372 deaths due to lightning strikes in 2019-20 while 338 persons were killed 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 strikes 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.
As per the information received from the Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (RIMES), Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar and Ganjam districts are the major lightning-prone regions of the state. Each of the districts experienced more than two lakh lightning strikes during the past 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 past five years.
Pujari told the Assembly that an average of 6-7 lakh lighting strikes per year have been recorded in all the 30 districts of the state between 2019 and 2024.
He also said that Odisha has reported maximum casualties due to lightning strikes in the country due to thunderstorms over the past five years.
As a precautionary measure, early warning regarding different natural hazards, including lightning, is being provided to the people through the Satark mobile App developed by RIMES, he said.
Pujari also asserted that the government has managed to bring down the number of casualties to some extent through the early warning system and public awareness campaigns.
Notably, the state government is planning to plant around 1.9 million palm trees throughout Odisha in 2024-25 at a cost of about Rs 7 crore.
Palm trees possess a natural ability to mitigate lightning strikes due to their high moisture content and height, acting as natural lightning rods and conductors.