Lightning kills 1 in Palamu, trees uprooted in Giridih

Daltonganj/Ranchi: A 19-year-old man was killed, and three others were injured after a lightning struck in Hussainabad in Palamu district on Saturday afternoon. Rains also lashed other parts of Jharkhand and uprooted trees in Giridih district and brought mild showers in the state capital.

Palamu civil surgeon Dr Anil Kumar said the deceased was identified as Om Prakash Chandravanshi. "The deceased, along with the injured, were walking down a street amid the rains when they were struck by lightning," Kumar said.

Strong winds, ranging between 40-60 kilometres an hour, swept through Ranchi on Saturday as the city received up to 10 mm of rain till the evening, accompanied by thundering and lightning.

The tennis court fencing was razed to the ground due by the gusty winds in Mega Sports Complex in Hotwar. Overhead power lines were also knocked down in Lali village in Namkum.

In Giridih, gusty winds uprooted trees near Sadar Hospital, Hatti Bazaar, Bhandaridih, Panchamba and other urban pockets. Electricity supply was also affected for several hours.

Abhishek Anand, director in-charge of the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) Ranchi, said, "The IMD had also issued alerts of strong wind, thundering and lightening for several districts including Giridih, Deoghar, Bokaro and Dhanbad during the day."

The IMD informed that the highest rainfall in the state was recorded at Bokaro Thermal of 44.2 mm while Deoghar recorded 16.5 mm rain.