Bhubaneswar: The regional office of India Meteorological Department has issued thunderstorm and lightning warning for 16 districts in Odisha till 5.30 pm today.
As per the latest reports, the alert has been issued for Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Balasore, Bhadrak, Angul, Jajpur, Nayagarh, Cuttack, Deogarh, Sambalpur, Khorda, Kendrapara, Khurda, Dhenkanal, Puri and Jagatsinghpur districts.
People in these districts have been advised to take shelter in nearby buildings or other safety locations and avoid venturing out till 5.30 pm.
Some districts will also experience heavy rainfall in the next 24 hours, the met department stated in its release.
The State government had in August planned a massive awareness programme to prevent casualties due to lightning by educating school students and farmers on the extension system.