At least five people were killed after a thunderstorm hit Jharkhand on Sunday afternoon, Dainik Bhaskar reported. A number of trees in and around the capital city of Ranchi were uprooted, and the storm caused water-logging and gridlock, according to Hindustan Times.
An unidentified man taking shelter under a tree died in a lightning strike in Ranchi’s HEC Sahid Maidan locality, said Ranchi Jagannathpur officer-in-charge Anup Kumar Karmakar. A 10-year-old died and four others were injured in Kusum Toli of Gumla district’s Ghagra block when lightning struck. One more death was reported from Rekma village in the district’s Kaliga panchayat. While one person died in the storm in Simdega district’s Thethaitangar village, one death was reported from Ramgarh district.
India Meteorological Department’s Ranchi Director BK Mandal said the thunderstorm and heavy rain were caused by the formation of pre-monsoon thunder cells, which burst over parts of Jharkhand including Ranchi. “It is a temporary phenomena, the exact location of which cannot be predicted,” Mandal said.
Ranchi alone received 54.4 mm rainfall in just one-hour. Mandal said that wind speed in Ranchi in the afternoon was recorded at 60 kmph. “The weather condition is likely to improve on Monday with possibility of thunder.”
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