Lightning strikes again: 16-year-old dead near NIT Silchar

The Nature Gods seems to be on destructive mood this year, thunderstorms are now-a-days a daily threat. Today too there were several episodes of thunderstorm witnessed throughout Barak Valley and around 1:00 PM lightning took away life of one Tambutilla resident Sagar Thakur, son of Dilip Thakur.

As per District Disaster Management Authority, Cachar, the incident took place in Kalibari lane near NIT Silchar, the deceased was only 16 years old. OC of Ghungoor Police station informed us that the body is kept in the morgue of Silchar Medical College and Hospital. Few days back a similar incident took place where a man named Sudhir Baishnab lost his life in Radhakrishna Nagar in Karimganj.

DDMA executives informed us that, in the case of a death due to lightning, the family of the deceased gets Rs 4,00,000 from the Central Government as compensation. “Local Police station does an inspection and once the cause of death is confirmed the Circle officer takes over the proceedings and the compensation process starts,” informed the executive on condition of anonymity.

The executive also shared a series of Dos and Don’ts mentioned below.

Preparedness/Before

• Prepare an emergency kit with essential items for safety and survival
• Secure your house; carry out repairs; don’t leave sharp objects loose
• Secure outside objects that could blow away and cause damage
• Remove rotting trees/broken branches that could fall and cause injury or damage
• Listen to radio, watch TV or read newspapers for weather updates or warnings.

During

• Keep a watch on local weather updates and warnings
• Try to stay indoors, stay off verandas
• Unplug all electrical equipment. Don’t use corded telephones
• Don’t touch plumbing and metal pipes. Do not use running water.
• Stay away from structures with tin roofs/metal sheeting
• Don’t take shelter near/under trees
• Stay put if you are inside a car/bus/covered vehicle
• Don’t use metallic objects; stay away from power/telephone lines
• Get out of water- pools, lakes, small boats on water bodies and take safe shelter immediately.

After

• Stay away from storm-damaged areas
• Listen to local radio/TV stations for updated information or instructions on weather and traffic updates.
• Help children, women, elderly and differently abled
• Stay away from fallen trees/power lines and report to nearest tehsil/district HQ immediately.