10 October,2024 06:47 PM IST | Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar | mid-day online correspondent
Representational Pic/File
As many as 64 people were killed in Maharashtra rain-related incidents in this year's monsoon in Marathwada region, of which 38 were due to lightning strikes, officials said on Thursday, reported the PTI.
Marathwada comprises the districts of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Jalna, Beed, Parbhani, Latur, Nanded, Osmanabad and Hingoli.
Of these deaths between June 1 and October 4, Latur reported the most at 12, according to the report from the revenue department.
According to the PTI, besides the 64 deaths, including 38 due to lightning strikes, 16 people were also injured in rain-related incidents in Marathwada.
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Of those people who lost their lives, 24 drowned during floods, said the report.
The region also recorded the deaths of 1,595 animals belonging to farmers. Of the eight districts, Parbhani reported the most such deaths at 407.
Currently, 407 lightning arresters have been installed in the region. Of them, 308 are in Beed and 79 in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, the report said.
Parbhani, where the highest (8) deaths due to lightning strikes were recorded this year, had four lightning arresters till May 2024, said another report, as per the PTI.
Nearly 1,500 died in extreme weather events in 2024 Monsoon season
Nearly 1,500 people died in extreme weather events in 2024 rainy season, according to data compiled by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), reported the PTI.
As per the data, a total of 1,492 people died in India during extreme weather events during monsoon season.
The data revealed that 895 people lost their lives due to floods and rain-related incidents, while 597 fatalities were caused by thunderstorms and lightning strikes during the monsoon season, as per the PTI.
The IMD reported that the country experienced 525 heavy rainfall events (precipitation between 115.6 mm and 204.5 mm) -- the highest in the last five years -- and 96 extremely heavy rainfall events (above 204.5 mm) during the 2024 monsoon, as per the PTI.
According to the data, 17 people died from heatwaves -- 13 in Jharkhand and four in Rajasthan -- during the early part of the season, the PTI reported on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Kerala, which witnessed devastating landslides in the ecologically fragile Wayanad district on July 30, recorded 397 deaths due to floods and heavy rains, the PTI eported.
Assam and Madhya Pradesh recorded 102 and 100 deaths, respectively, due to floods and heavy rains.
In the national capital, 13 deaths were reported as a result of floods and heavy rains.
The data also revealed that Madhya Pradesh recorded the highest number of deaths (189) due to thunderstorms and lightning strikes, followed by Uttar Pradesh (138), Bihar (61), and Jharkhand (53).
The 2024 southwest monsoon season officially ended on Monday, with India recording 934.8 mm of rainfall -- 107.6 per cent of the long-period average and the highest since 2020.
Central India received 19 per cent more rainfall than the long-period average for the region, the southern peninsula recorded 14 per cent more than normal, and northwest India saw 7 per cent more than usual, according to the PTI.
In contrast, east and northeast India registered 14 per cent less rainfall than normal, according to the data.
(with PTI inputs)