PATNA: Lightning struck Friday again, and claimed the lives of thirteen more people for the fourth time in Bihar's districts including Vaishali.
Five people, including a girl named Nisha Kumari, were killed in Jandaha, Mahua, Tisiyota villages of Vaishali district while working in paddy fields.
The Department of disaster management had issued, a few hours ago, an alert on the possibility of lightning and rain in all the districts in which the casualties were reported.
Earlier on Thursday, 26 people including farmers were killed when lightning hit them while working in the fields in Bihar.
According to the Disaster Management Department, five deaths were reported from Patna's neighbouring district, Vaishali, followed by three deaths in Samatipur.
Official sources said that two farmers were reported dead in Lakhisarai and one each from Gaya, Banka and Jamui districts.
Principal secretary of the State Disaster Management Department, Pratyay Amrit said that alert messages were sent to phones prior to the turbulent weather.
"Apart from this system, awareness among the people is also being created on war-footing in Bihar on preventive measures by all means of communication," he said, adding that the department is running a round-the-clock monitoring system.
He said that an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh is being paid to the family of everyone who had died in the lightning so far after getting detail report from concerned districts.
Lightning has wreaked havoc in Bihar since April 19 when it claimed the lives of 5, followed by six deaths on April 23, 12 on April 26, 7 on May 1, 2 on May 7, 5 on May 19, 96 on June 26, 11 on June 30 and 26 on July 2.