As the South West monsoon is yet to knock the door of India, the pre-monsoon activities have been started in some of the countries with miseries and fatalities. In a probably first in the season, as many as 10 deaths are reported due to lightning and thunderstorm related incidences in three districts of Andhra Pradesh on 11^th April according to Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA).

 

Three people most of them Sheepherders and field labourers were hit by lightning in the outskirts of Chennur village in Nellore district, while other fatalities reported each from Alur, Bogole and Naidupet mandala in the same district. Another strike of lightning reported from Guntur which killed 3 people and subsequently 1 from Prakasam district as per the information released by the  APSDMA.  

 

Unexpectedly these facilities have occurred despite the state is having a dedicated lightning alert system in place. Significantly the state of art lightning alert system has been set up by Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority with the help of US-based Earth Network. The State  Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) of APSDMA monitors the formation of storm cell and the possibility of lightning in a particular location by way of lightning sensors, which issues warning in advance regarding thunderstorm and lighting possibilities. All the lightning alert messages are sent out to grassroots level officers such as Tahsildars and Village Revenue Officers through a dedicated Mobile App.

 

The Special Commissioner (Disaster Management) & Ex-Officio Additional Secretary to Government, Revenue (DM) Department, Managing Director(FAC), APSDMA Shri K Kanna Babu has although clarified that all the necessary warnings were given to community dwellers about the possible lightning strikes but despite all possible measures occurrence of 10 fatalities occurred that certainly Puts question mark about the level of community awareness and preparedness.

Lightning is a bright flash of electricity produced by a thunderstorm. These are hydro-meteorological phenomena which affect vulnerable communities with resultant loss of lives and devastations. As per the data gathered by National Crime Records Bureau, Govt. of India for the year 2015, out of the total 10510 accidental deaths due to factors attributable to natural causes, 25.1 % occurred due to lightning. The data also shows that the incidences of lightning and thunderstorms are showing increasing trends during 2015 over the previous year 2014. 

 

The states most vulnerable to lightning are Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, etc. One of the significant facts of lightning is that in most of the cases, it claims more lives of male over the female population, because of the more involvement of the male population in outside activities. Lightning mostly occurred in open Spaces like agricultural fields, barren lands,  near ponds, etc. Standing under trees during lightning events is considered extremely fatal.

APSDMA has reportedly issued advanced warnings with the possible locations of Lightning and alert warnings to local inhabitants for staying at safer places but possibly due to lack of community awareness deaths could not be averted. Mr.Kanna Babu has again advised people particularly farmers, cattle herders to follow advice and instructions sent out by disaster management authorities and stay in safer places to avoid tragedies.