Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, June 29: Close to 3,000 (2945 exact figure) persons have died due to various calamities in the state in the past five years between 2011-12 and 2015-16, revealed the office of special relief commissioner (SRC) Wednesday.
Major natural calamities afflicting the state include lightning, fire, sunstroke, hailstorm/whirlwind, floods, cyclone, boat mishaps, drowning and snakebite.
The information was given by SRC Pradipta Kumar Mohapatra after a meeting of state-level natural calamity commission in the day.
Natural calamities have claimed the maximum number of deaths deaths in 2015-16. As many as 979 persons have died due to various calamities in 2015-16, while the number stood at 474 in 2014-15, 497 in 2013-14, 408 in 2012-13 and 512 in 2011-12.
Lightning has claimed more lives than any other calamity. As many as 1729 lightning deaths have occurred in the past five years. Likewise, 144 deaths have occurred due to fire, 219 sun stroke, nine hailstorm, 241 floods, 24 cyclone, 100 boat capsize and 177 deaths due to drowning.
Average deaths due to lightning have remained 346 in the last five years and the number constitutes 59 per cent of the calamity deaths.
Interestingly, snakebite which has been added to the calamities list has claimed 302 lives in 2015-16. The SRC does not have details of deaths from snakebites for the remaining four years.