Assam: Five killed due to lightning in past three days
Guwahati, May 24
Five people have been killed by lightning in Kokrajhar, Barpeta, Golaghat and Dibrugarh districts of Assam in the past three days, officials said on Sunday.
According to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), three people were killed by lightning in the state on May 23, while one each died on May 22 and 21.
"On May 23, one each people killed by lightning in Kokrajhar, Barpeta and Golaghat districts. On May 22, one people killed in Udalguri district and another person died in Dibrugarh district on May 21. On the other hand, 6 animals also killed in lightning in the state," the ASDMA report said.
On the other hand, seven districts - Goalpara, Bongaigaon, Sonitpur, Lakhimpur, Hojai, Dibrugarh and Golaghat- have been affected by the storm on Saturday and several houses and infrastructure were damaged. The ASDMA stated that 31 villages under 11 revenue circles were badly affected by the storm
The India Meteorological Department has issued an alert of rainfall and lightning in several districts of the state.
Meanwhile, several states of Northern, Central and Western India are currently locked in the grip of a punishing heatwave, forcing regional administrations to enact emergency countermeasures.
According to updates from the India Meteorological Department (IMD), heat waves are a period of unusually high temperatures as compared to what is normally expected over a region. Several states are gripped by the extreme heat with temperatures over 40°C.
Heat wave conditions are very likely to occur during the next 6 days, as per IMD's Daily Weather Report and Forecast Bulletin.
"Heat wave to severe heat wave conditions prevailed in few pockets over East Uttar Pradesh & Vidarbha; Heat wave conditions in many pockets of Haryana, Chandigarh & Delhi and Himachal Pradesh; in some pockets of East Madhya Pradesh; in isolated pockets of Uttarakhand, Odisha, Punjab, West Uttar Pradesh & Coastal Andhra Pradesh," said IMD.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Sad news but not surprising. Our weather patterns are becoming more extreme every year. First the heatwave in North India with temperatures over 40°C, and now this. Climate change is real and we need to adapt urgently.
My prayers for the families. But really, the government should install lightning arresters in villages and schools. It's not that expensive, compared to human lives lost every year. 😔
As someone visiting Assam for work, I'm shocked by the lack of lightning shelters in open fields. In my home country, we have simple community shelters every kilometer. Why can't we do that here?
Meanwhile Delhi is melting in 45°C heat and Assam gets extreme storms. Our country's weather is bipolar yaar. But seriously, both extremes need better disaster management. This should be a wake-up call to ASDMA to invest in preventive measures.
It's not just about lightning - the article mentions 31 villages affected by storms. Infrastructure damage and animal deaths show this is a wider crisis. Hope the authorities provide proper relief and reconstruction support. Stay safe, everyone 🙏
Respectful criticism: The ASDMA report seems delayed - they report deaths but preventive alerts from IMD come too late.
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