Lightning Killed Over 2,400 People In Jharkhand In A Decade, Majority Of Them Were Farmers

Ranchi: Jharkhand is a primarily tribal state where natural resources and beauty abound. But at the same time, this state also experiences a very high incidence of lightning that not only impacts human life but also the lives of animals, besides destroying agricultural produce and human habitat.

The state has been witnessing the loss of several lives every year on account of this natural phenomenon. This has led to lightning becoming a prime natural disaster for the state. Data gathered from the Home, Taxation and Disaster Management Departments of the state government reveal that the incidence of lightning and subsequent losses has been increasing consistently over the years. This phenomenon has resulted in the lives of 2417 people between 2014-15 and 2023-24.

Even in the current year, there have been at least 16 deaths besides those of animals in incidents of lightning reported from Bokaro, Latehar, Garhwa, Lohardagga etc. The major among these was the death of five people on May 19 across the state, along with injuries to six more. Three people had died in Bokaro on the next day, and yet three more had died in Garhwa, including a matriculation student on May 21. On the same day, 28 animals had perished in Latehar.

According to the Jharkhand Director of the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) Abhishek Anand, “Lightning has turned out to be the biggest natural disaster faced by this state. Jharkhand does not face that severe a threat from floods, earthquakes or other disasters as it faces from lightning. This is largely because of its plateau topography, presence of mineral wealth under the soil, substantial height from the sea level, a thick forest cover, presence of numerous water bodies and certain other geographical factors.”

When the data about deaths due to lightning is analysed, it can be seen that almost 90% of these deaths have been reported from the rural areas, and the majority of the victims were farmers. This can be interpreted as farmers and farm labour working in the open fields being the most vulnerable to natural lightning.

Anand explained that there are three kinds of lightning – intra-cloud, inter-cloud and cloud-to-ground. The last one is the most dangerous. Statistics also reveal that the maximum damage because of lightnings in June and July when the farmers spend maximum time in their fields and animals are taken for grazing over a longer duration.

Anand said that the number of people perishing can be brought down by taking certain precautions. “Whenever there is a formation of dark clouds, people should avoid going to their farms or into the open. If they are already out, they should take shelter in a well-constructed pucca house. One should never take shelter under a solid and dense tree as it attracts lightning the most,” he suggested.

He also asked the people to download location-specific ‘Damini’ and ‘Sachet’ applications on their mobiles. These applications provide instant information about bad weather conditions on an area-specific basis. These include warnings about rainfall and lightning.