By Hannah Claire Brimelow
India reports 76 people were killed by lighting strikes as the region’s monsoon season begins.
From June to September, monsoons bring heavy rain to the country. The storms supply two-thirds of the nation’s annual rainfall. The rain is vital to the agricultural production of the country as fewer than 40% of farms are irrigated – leaving the rest dependent on rain. However, the storms also cause billions of dollars of widespread damage each year.
In the state of Rajasthan, an estimated 23 people died due to lighting in recent days. The state disaster department told the media that 12 people were killed watching a storm from watch towers near the 12th-century Amer Fort near the city of Japiur. The fort is popular tourist destination and attracts thousands of visitors each year.
“It was already raining when the people were there. They huddled in the towers as the rainfall intensified. Some of the injured were left unconscious by the strikes. Others ran out in panic and extreme pain,” a senior Jaipur police officer said to a news outlet.
In Uttar Pradesh, at least 42 people died over the weekend. Authorities did not release the location or circumstances related to the deaths.
At the same time, the central state of Madhya Pradesh reported 11 lighting related fatalities.
“The chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi have announced compensation for the families of those who died,” reports BBC.
Saddened by the loss of lives due to lightning in parts of Madhya Pradesh. The State Government will provide all possible assistance to the affected. From the PMNRF, Rs. 2 lakh would be given to the next of kin of the deceased and Rs. 50,000 would be given to the injured: PM Modi
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) July 12, 2021
According to the Financial Times, “a good monsoon season last year was vital in India surviving the historic economic contraction that followed a strict multi-month lockdown. A bountiful harvest provided employment to returning migrants who had lost their jobs in cities and stoked consumption of everything from motorcycles to consumer goods.”
Weather service data indicates that lighting strike deaths have doubled in India since the 1960s. On average, over 2,000 people die from lighting strikes in India each year.
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16 responses to “Over 70 People Killed by Lightning in India”
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Hey Mumbai, maybe God’s not an elephant with eight arms? Looks like you picked wrong and he’s angry!
In 2019, major floods and crazy storms. India gets hit hard.
But last year (or also 2019?), Chinese building got hit with possibly a low magnetosphere/Earth connection. Looked like it was slicing the building in half, and that’s not how lightning hitting a steel framed out structure reacts to normal lightning…
My grandma was struck by lightning When I was in elementary school she was in her 70s she actually stayed up and walked away. My friend Luis and I missed the bus at school and started walking home in the storm I was in third grade. While we were walking down the road my grandma showed up in our orange 73 Chevy pick up she had a napkin on a hole in her head with blood running down it. She opened the door. I said what happened grandma and said get in the goddamn truck. I looked at Luis and said get us a truck and we drove home without a word. Later the ambulance showed up and she didn’t want to go to the hospital. They inevitably took her. Later on we got a picture of her standing up with her left leg three times the size of her right leg covered in bruising it was pretty crazy there are even holes in the concrete where the lightning struck in the trees were split down the middle. My dad says that she grabbed the lightning bolt in her teeth and spit it back she wasn’t ready to go she still alive today . She is 93.
Lightening struck the GF memorial as well. I wonder where it will strike next???
Man thats so sad..
Must be climate change
They should ban lighting
Maybe they should stop wearing jeweled turban’s like The Great Tiger? Maybe don’t put a lightning rod on your head?
Light supremacist
Lightning must be Racist, and is clearly White (supremacist) , and Have AR-15’s. Clearly we need legislation to that stops this racist white supremacy by shutting down small businesses.
“Lightning violence.” Clearly we need common-sense lightning control.
Should probably start lockdowns during storms to keep everyone safe since that’s what we do now
We do the same for Tornadoes. I don’t think you can draw an equivalency between short lived natural disaster precautions and ones that are “Made in China”. 🤓
We don’t have government mandated lockdowns for Tornados. The sirens go off and you can choose to go to the basement or not. Me and my father like going outside to watch the clouds and see if we can see the tornado right before it goes vertical and touches down.
Check out the YouTube channel Suspicious Observers for some info on increasing lightning strikes.
Ben Davidson is my number one pick to go on the show.
Eyes Open. No Fear.