10 dead, 4 others critically injured in lightning strikes across Odisha

Separate incidents of Nor'wester (Kalbaisakhi) thunderstorms with lightning strikes claimed as many as ten lives in different places across Odisha on Friday.

Also Read: Lightning strike claims three lives in Odisha’s Koraput

The deaths due to lightning strikes include three from Koraput, two from Ganjam, two from Jajpur, two from Dhenkanal, and one from Gajapati districts of the State.

The maximum fatalities from Koraput

In the Koraput district, the abrupt storm caused the deaths of three people in the Laxmipur locality. Among the deceased were an elderly woman and her granddaughter from Pordiguda village of Odiapentha panchayat. The deceased woman was identified as Burudi Mandinga, aged 60, and her granddaughter as Kasha Mandinga, aged 18, a police source said.

Additionally, Ambika Kashi, a resident of Kumbharaguda village in Koraput, also lost her life in a lightning strike while working in a farmland.

In Ganjam, the storm claimed the life of a young woman at Belaguntha in Bhanjanagar and a minor in Kabisuryanagar.

Similarly, in Dhenkanal district's Kusumandia village under Kamakhyanagar block, another woman died due to the lightning strike. A young man died in Kabera village under Gondia police limits in the district.

Two minors died in the Burusahi locality under the Jenapur police limits in Jajpur district.

Gajapati district reported a death and injuries to four other individuals in Mohana and R. Udayagiri blocks.

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In its mid-day bulletin, the IMD regional centre mentioned, “People are advised to keep watch on the weather and take safe shelter during the thunderstorm activity to protect them from lightning and follow traffic advisories in urban areas. Also, harvesting of crops may be regulated judicially, and farmers are advised to use hail nets to protect vegetables and crops from hailstorms.”