Assam: Five killed by lightning strikes in Kokrajhar, other districts

Five people were killed by lightning strikes across several districts in Assam over three days, according to the ASDMA. Storms also caused damage to houses and infrastructure, while other parts of India are experiencing a severe heatwave.

Five people have been killed by lightning in Kokrajhar, Barpeta, Golaghat and Dibrugarh districts of Assam in the past three days, officials said on Sunday.

According to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), three people were killed by lightning in the state on May 23, while one each died on May 22 and 21. "On May 23, one each people killed by lightning in Kokrajhar, Barpeta and Golaghat districts. On May 22, one people killed in Udalguri district and another person died in Dibrugarh district on May 21. On the other hand, 6 animals also killed in lightning in the state," the ASDMA report said.

Storms Affect Seven Districts

On the other hand, seven districts - Goalpara, Bongaigaon, Sonitpur, Lakhimpur, Hojai, Dibrugarh and Golaghat- have been affected by the storm on Saturday and several houses and infrastructure were damaged.

The ASDMA stated that 31 villages under 11 revenue circles were badly affected by the storm The India Meteorological Department has issued an alert of rainfall and lightning in several districts of the state.

Heatwave Grips Parts of India

Meanwhile, several states of Northern, Central and Western India are currently locked in the grip of a punishing heatwave, forcing regional administrations to enact emergency countermeasures.

According to updates from the India Meteorological Department (IMD), heat waves are a period of unusually high temperatures as compared to what is normally expected over a region. Several states are gripped by the extreme heat with temperatures over 40°C. Heat wave conditions are very likely to occur during the next 6 days, as per IMD's Daily Weather Report and Forecast Bulletin.

"Heat wave to severe heat wave conditions prevailed in few pockets over East Uttar Pradesh & Vidarbha; Heat wave conditions in many pockets of Haryana, Chandigarh & Delhi and Himachal Pradesh; in some pockets of East Madhya Pradesh; in isolated pockets of Uttarakhand, Odisha, Punjab, West Uttar Pradesh & Coastal Andhra Pradesh," said IMD. (ANI)

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