At Least 9 Die In West Bengal Due To Thunderstorms, Lightning

At least nine individuals have tragically lost their lives due to severe thunderstorms and lightning strikes that swept through various districts of West Bengal on Monday. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed deep sorrow over the incidents, offering condolences to the affected families.

The casualties occurred across multiple districts, with reports indicating that five people lost their lives in Purba Burdwan, while two fatalities each were reported in Paschim Medinipur and Purulia. Additionally, two individuals succumbed to injuries resulting from wall collapses in Nadia, and another person tragically lost their life due to a tree collapse in South 24 Parganas.

In response to the devastation, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee emphasised the efforts of district administrations in managing the crisis and providing relief to affected communities. She affirmed that authorities are operating in disaster management mode, working tirelessly to offer assistance and ex gratia payments to the affected families in accordance with established guidelines.

“Profoundly sad to know that 9 persons died due to thunderstorms and lightning last night (5 in Purba Burdwan, 2 each in Paschim Medinipur and Purulia), while 2 more persons died due to wall collapses in Nadia and 1 more due to tree collapse in South 24 Parganas. Our district administrations everywhere have been working on disaster management mode round the clock and are taking actions to provide relief and ex gratia as per guidelines. My sincere condolences to the bereaved families of the 12 fellow citizens of Bengal,” Mamata Banerjee wrote on X.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) provided insights into the weather conditions prevailing in the region. Rainfall data from Kolkata indicated significant precipitation levels, with 7 cm recorded at Kolkata (Alipur) and 5 cm at Kolkata (Dum Dum) during specific periods. However, the IMD forecasted no significant rainfall over Kolkata in the coming hours.

IMD’s observations from the previous day indicated a slight weakening of convection over Gangetic West Bengal. Despite this, isolated patches of moderate to intense convection persisted in the region, with the likelihood of light to moderate rainfall spells accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds reaching speeds of 40-50 kmph during nighttime. Similar weather conditions were anticipated over other regions, including South Rayalaseema adjoining north Tamil Nadu & south coastal Andhra Pradesh, extreme north coastal Andhra Pradesh, west Arunachal Pradesh Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, and Tripura during the same timeframe.