20 killed due to storms, lightning strikes in Assam; Over 3000 houses fully destroyed

 

Dispur: At least 20 people lost their lives in several incidents of severe storms and lightning strikes throughout Assam since late March. As per the data shared by Chief Executive Officer of Assam State Disaster Management Authority GD Tripathi, in the last three days, 22 districts have reported storm and lightning incidents in 80 Revenue Circles spanning over 1,410 villages impacting 95,239 people.

Total of 20 deaths have been reported during this season due to storms and lightning, of which 19 deaths were reported in April (till April 17) and one in the last week of March. Reportedly, 3,011 houses are fully damaged (Katcha= 2,974; Pacca=37) and 19,256 houses (Katcha=17,713; Pacca=1,543) have been partially damaged till April 16. So far, a total of 1,333 hectares of crop area damage has also been reported from the districts.

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Notably, an ex-gratia payment to the next of kin of deceased persons has been initiated and it will be completed soon. A further detailed assessment is underway on in many storm-affected Revenue Circles. Circle level task forces constituted by the Government for damage assessment have started a detailed damage assessment process and verification for speedy disbursement of financial assistance.

Further, under the Scheme for Training of Community Volunteers in Disaster Response (Aapda Mitra) community volunteers have been deputed for the distribution of tarpaulin and gratuitous relief items in order to help local circle level administration. Teams of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and fire and ES were also deputed for clearance of Road communication and storm debris in the affected localities with close support from the forest department. Power has been delegated to all Deputy Commissioners by the Government for speedy sanction and disbursement of Rehabilitation grants etc. to the affected populations and beneficiaries through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), without referring to the government for approval.