One person has died and three others have been injured in a lightning strike in Kandiyal village in Uttarkashi’s Purola tehsil, Uttarakhand, India on Sunday. The injured individuals were taken to the Community Health Centre in Purola and subsequently referred to Dehradun. According to District Disaster Management Officer Devendra Patwal, Four people were injured due to lightning in village Kandiyal village under Tehsil Purola of Uttarkashi. One of these persons died. Other three injured have been brought to CHC Purola from where they are being referred to the Higher Center Dehradun.
Following the incident, Kedarnath Yatra in Rudraprayag district has been cancelled due to the heavy rains. The district received 78 mm of rainfall in the last 24 hours. Other regions that received significant rainfall are Haridwar (78 mm), Dehradun (33.2 mm), and Uttarkashi (27.7 mm), according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
The IMD has also issued an orange alert, indicating that Himachal Pradesh will experience heavy to very heavy rainfall along with lightning and thunderstorms in isolated areas on Sunday and Monday.
Lightning strikes are a common cause of fatalities and injuries, and people should take necessary precautions during rainy weather to avoid them. People must avoid walking in open areas and standing under trees or metal roofs and should take shelter inside buildings or in a car if possible.
These incidents are volatile, and the government has been empathetic to the victims of the recent lightning strikes. We implore people to stay safe and avoid open areas during a storm.
