Patna:

Twelve people were killed in lightning strikes in Bihar over the last 24 hours, an official statement said on Monday.

With this, the total number of deaths in lightning strikes since July 1 rose to 42. Among them are 10 people who died on Sunday, and nine people who died on Saturday.

According to the statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), Jamui and Kaimur reported three fresh deaths each, followed by Rohtas where two people died, while one person each died in Saharsa, Saran, Bhojpur, Gopalganj.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar expressed condolences over the deaths and announced an ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh each for the next of families of the victims. 

He appealed to the people to remain alert and stay indoors during thunderstorms. He also urged people to follow advisories issued by the Disaster Management Department.

According to the Bihar Economic Survey of 2023-24, tabled in the assembly in February, the state witnessed 400 deaths related to lightning and thunderstorms in 2022. The highest number of deaths were reported from Gaya (46), Bhojpur (23) and Nawada (21).

Between 2018 and 2022, 9,687 deaths happened due to various natural disasters and accidents in the state, the survey report said.

In 2022-2023, the highest number of deaths occurred due to drowning (1,132), followed by road accidents (654) and lightning strikes (400).

“Bihar allocated Rs 430.92 crore for management of disasters in 2022-2023, with the largest portion going toward local disasters like lightning and drowning (Rs 285.22 crore),” it said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)