2,500 people get killed every year by lightning strike

The NDMA says that on an average, over 2,500 people die annually due to lightning. In Tamil Nadu, about 500 people died between 2011 to 2015.

Pudukkottai District Collector P Uma Maheshwari at the hospital (Photo| EPS)

CHENNAI: J Radhakrishnan, Commissioner of Revenue Administration, Disaster Management and Mitigation, told Express that a circular has issued elaborating Do’s and Don’ts to be followed during lightning.

“It’s an unfortunate incident and prediction of lightning as to the precise time and location is very difficult. I am informed by Pudukkottai district officials that the condition of the injured is stable.”

Authorities are closely working with Regional Meteorological Centre in Chennai to improve the dissemination of lightning forecast. “A six-hour advance warning is being received from met department.”
S Balachandran, Deputy Director General of Meteorology, told Express that this was beginning of the thunderstorm season. “We are now issuing thunderstorm nowcast warnings, where district wise prediction is being made on real-time basis. There is also a pilot project being undertaken by Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology for providing sensor-based lightning alert systems.”

Met department has issued a general thunderstorm with lightning for Tamil Nadu. But the dynamic lightning prediction system are picking up the activity mostly in Perambalur, Pudukkottai,  Chennai, Tiruvallur, Vellore, Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Erode, Tiruppur, Coimbatore, Sivaganga and Ramanathapuram districts with maximum surface wind speed between 41-61 kmph in gusts. Action plan pending, 500 died in 4 years

The NDMA says that on an average, over 2,500 people die annually due to lightning. In Tamil Nadu, about 500 people died between 2011 to 2015. Last year, the authority issued guidelines to State governments to prepare an action plan but no progress has been achieved.   India reports the highest number of deaths due to lightning strikes. Lightning claimed 35,384 lives in the country from 2000 to 2015.

The States were asked to map the lightning-affected zones based on the data of deaths, data of lightning incidence, etc. NDMA has recommended to IMD to enhance the radar and lightning network to all potential areas.