Lightning Evidence Can Be Very Deadly In India: Hundreds Of People Killed In Days

Illustration (Source: Sean Mcauliffe / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - A lightning strike is a disaster in India. In recent days, hundreds of people have died from being struck by lightning.

There are two states in India that have the highest number of lightning deaths. First, in Bihar State. Reported by the BBC, the state's disaster management team recorded 83 people died from being hit by lightning. Meanwhile, 20 other people were rushed to the hospital.

Another state with a lot of lightning strikes is Uttar Pradesh. There, at least 20 people were reported killed.

In addition to causing casualties, lightning also damaged many trees and buildings. The local government warned residents to be vigilant and stay indoors as much as possible, given the weather forecasts said that something worse was coming.

Meanwhile, Indian Minister for Disaster Management Bihar Lakhsmeshwar Rai told AFP that lightning strikes registered the highest casualties in recent years. More than half of the deaths occurred in the northern and eastern districts of the state.

According to authorities, in Uttar Pradesh itself, most of the lightning deaths have occurred in the Deoria District. Meanwhile, according to India's National Criminal Records Bureau, at least more than 2,300 people were killed in India in 2018. Since 2005 the number of cases killed by electrocution has reached 2,000 people every year.

One of the reasons for the high death toll from lightning strikes is the large number of people working outdoors in India, compared to other countries. In 2018, the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh recorded 36,749 lightning strikes in just 13 hours.