At least two persons died and four others sustained critical injuries in a lightning strike at Dulanapur village in the Banki area of Cuttack district on Tuesday.
The deceased were identified as Gatikrushna Parida and Ramesh Sahu of the village. The injured were shifted to shifted to the Banki Hospital and later shifted the SCB Medical College Hospital in Cuttack. The mishap took place when all of them were working at farmland. Meanwhile, more than 500 people of hilly areas in four blocks of Gajapati district were evacuated by the administration following heavy rainfall due to deep depression. As per direction of the district Collector, the people residing in the vulnerable areas of Udaygiri, Raigarh, Gumma and Kashinagar blocks were shifted to cyclone shelters. Mohana block has recorded the highest 142 mm of rain fall during this period. Around two-foot high water is flowing over Atharanala bridge, disconnecting five panchayats of block from the main land.
As per sources, a flood situation may arise if heavy rain continues.