Shafiqul Islam (Jami)
State minister for Disaster Management and Relief Dr. Md. Enamur Rahman said from 2011 to 2021, 2,800 people have died in lightning strikes. He said plans have been made to set up shelter centers in lightning-prone areas. He made the remarks at a briefing at the conference room of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief at the Secretariat on Tuesday (October 12). The briefing was organized on the occasion of International Disaster Mitigation Day-2021.
Md. Enamur Rahman said plans have been made to set up shelters in lightning-prone areas. There will be a house in one decimal place. A lightning arrester will be provided in each room so that people can go to the shelter center within 20 to 25 minutes of hearing the warning. They will stay there until the lightning strikes.
He said farmers and fishermen will be able to have breakfast and lunch at the lightning shelter. Anyone can rest there if they want. The minister said Dhaka University is examining the feasibility of the project costing TK 48 crore. Once their report is received, it will be sent to the Prime Minister for approval.
The state minister said more people were dying in open fields and haors due to lightning. From 2011 to 2021, 2,800 people died in lightning strikes. Of these, 179 were in 2011, 201 in 2012, 185 in 2013, 170 in 2014, 226 in 2015, 391 in 2016, 307 in 2017, 359 in 2018, 198 in 2019 and 255 in 2020 and 329 people have died so far in 2021. In other words, 2800 people have died in 11 years.
He said lightning was listed as a disaster in 2015. The sound (guru-guru) will create in the clouds when the lightning strikes. During this time positive-negative charges are created. The lightning strikes 40 minutes after this charge is made. Awareness will be created so that people do not come out of the house if the news is spread that people can stay indoors or see clouds so that they can stay indoors or there may be thunderstorms through the news.
Enamur Rahman said the machine can detect lightning 40 minutes in advance and can tell where it will be. The state minister said, “We will install this warning machine. Initially, lightning prone areas, especially haor areas, will be set up, he said.
The state minister further said that the app will be created so that alerts can be sent to people’s mobiles through the app.
