Odisha has been the most lightning-resilient State in the country with highest lightning strike counts of more than 9 lakh but resulting in only 129 human casualties.
Thanks to initiative taken by the Odisha Disaster Management Authority to inform people beforehand, human deaths have been under control.
With lightning strikes assuming alarming proportions in Bihar this monsoon, causing nearly 172 deaths in different parts of the state, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, has planned installation of a lightning sensor at the Central University of South Bihar (CUSB), Gaya campus.
Alarmed over the rising number of deaths due to lightning strikes, the Bihar State Disaster Management Authority (BSDMA) has signed an agreement with Bangaluru-based Earth Networks to set up a lightning forecast system in the state.
Earth Networks monitors and collects data on lightning strikes around the world.
Altogether 170 people were so far killed in lightning strikes during the current rainy season in Bihar. Giving this information to Bihar CM Nitish Kumar during a review meeting on flood and drought here on Saturday, the state’s disaster management department’s (DMD) principal secretary Pratyay Amrit said his department was planning to take assistance of the Earth Networks which provides early lightning warning.
The number of deaths because of lightning strikes in Odisha has been reduced by more than 30% by sending alerts through its early warning system at least 45 minutes ahead of potential hits, a senior official has said. Lightning is one of the major natural disasters in Odisha claiming over 400 human lives annually, 85% of which occur between May and September. In 2018-19, 320 people died of lightning against 465 in 2017-18.
The Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) has launched the ‘Sidilu’ app that predicts lightning strike and thunderstorms in advance and sends location-specific warnings to mobile users, to protect themselves.
The app, developed in association with US-based Earth Networks company, is expected to save people’s lives.
A spate of lightning strikes struck Andhra Pradesh in April and May causing fear and destruction. 14 people were killed in just a day in different districts of Andhra Pradesh due to 41,025 lightning strikes. On April 24, 37,000 lightning strikes were recorded within 13 hours. However, last year, 30,000 lightning strikes were recorded throughout May. Local authorities say that such occurrences are unprecedented...
The number of deaths due to an unusual number of lightning strikes in coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh in the last week would have been very high but for the lightning tracker system installed in the Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA). “The abnormal number of 41,025 cloud-to-earth lightning strikes on Tuesday would have caused a massive disaster had all of them hit human beings...
With lightning emerging as a major natural disaster that claims over 400 lives every year, Odisha Government is strongly contemplating to install an early warning system to minimise the loss of human lives as well as property. On Tuesday, Earth Networks, a USA-based organisation delivered a presentation on ‘Total Lightning-based Early Warning System’ before Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi.
At least 14 people were killed in 41,025 lightning strikes across Andhra Pradesh, the state disaster management department said on Wednesday. Guntur district recorded six deaths, the highest number in the state, followed by Vizianagaram (3), West Godavari (2), Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam and East Godavari (one each), a release from the department said.
Odisha government has initiated steps for adoption of super technology for early warning system about lightning, which claimed over 450 lives last year, a senior official has said. The possibilities of early detection and warning system about lightning was discussed at a high level meeting held here yesterday, the official said. More than 450 people in the state lost their lives due to lightning strikes...
In a new push to ensure precautionary measures against lightning hits, the Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) would use SMS services to alert people about the natural disaster. “Every year, over 400 people are killed in lightning strikes in the state. We are taking steps to reduce this number which is now on the ascendant. We are focusing on how to issue early-hour warnings about lightning strikes,” said state chief secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi.
The Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) is to set up lightning sensors, which will be detecting thunderstorms and predicting lightning strikes within a 100-sq km radius. The information can also be accessed by any one on a mobile phone by downloading an app. This sensor will predict accurate information about where and when lightning will strike. KSNDMC had tied up with an Andhra Pradesh based application developer to import 10 sensors from the U.S based Earth Network System.
The lightning that claimed six lives in a temple in Mysuru district on Friday was not just a bolt from the blue. A neglected natural disaster, lightning has claimed more lives in Karnataka than floods and heatstroke combined over the years. But, what if villagers could be warned of the strikes in advance? Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) hopes to set up a system in two months that will predict with relative accuracy where and when lightning will strike.
Every year, more than 2,000 people die in India due to lightning. With a lightning detection and alerting system from Earth Networks you can help keep people and property safe from the dangers of lightning.
Odisha, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh were the Indian states with the most lightning activity detected first eight months of 2019. Four out of the five top states for total lightning flash counts are located on the Indian east coast. This is historically a very lightning prone area.
To learn more about the lightning activity detected by the Earth Networks Global Lightning Network in 2019, including where the most intense India lightning storms took place in India, view the full report.
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