Over the past three days, Bihar has been devastated by lightning strikes and destructive thunderstorms, which have killed 80 people in just 72 hours, with 23 people killed, Nalanda is the district most affected and recorded the most fatalities, during the storm, the walls of a temple and an old Peepal tree collapsed, resulting in seven of these deaths, in addition to taking human lives, the severe weather has left a path of devastation in various parts of the state, hurting homes, crops, and cattle.
Torrential rains, hailstorms, and strong wind gusts that uprooted trees and damaged buildings were all part of the storms that started earlier this week, residents in Bihar were warned of severe weather conditions, including lightning strikes and gusts of up to 50 km/h, by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), which had issued an orange signal for the region, many were taken aback by the storms' strength in spite of these warnings, devotees sought refuge from the storm inside the Devi Sthan temple at Nagwan village, Nalanda, when the Peepal tree collapsed into it, killing several people, authorities are working to rescue people who are buried behind debris in the impacted districts.
The state government has announced an ex-gratia payment of ₹4 lakh to the families of each victim as part of its disaster relief efforts. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar expressed his condolences to the bereaved families and assured them that compensation would be provided promptly, district Magistrate Shashank Shubhankar confirmed that most affected families in Nalanda have already received their compensation, with efforts underway to complete payments for others, additionally assessment teams have been deployed to survey damage to homes and crops, ensuring that further financial aid is distributed according to government rules.
Bihar's agriculture sector has been severely damaged by the storms; rabi crops and onion plantations have reportedly sustained major damage, due to hailstorms that have devastated or flooded their fields, farmers in the impacted districts are suffering enormous losses, there have also been documented livestock deaths, which has increased the financial strain on rural areas, five livestock deaths have been reported in Nalanda alone and post-mortems are being performed to handle the impacted farmers' compensation claims.
Questions have been raised over Bihar's readiness for similar natural disasters in light of the extent of the damage, although lightning strikes are frequent in India during pre-monsoon weather, climate change seems to be contributing to an increase in both their frequency and intensity, official data from Bihar's Economic Survey (2024–25) shows that 275 people died in 2023 alone as a result of lightning-related accidents, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the state administration have now agreed to work together to develop better early warning systems in order to reduce future threats.
The necessity of public knowledge and attention to safety protocols during severe weather conditions has been underscored by local officials in the wake of this catastrophe, people took cover under trees or inside buildings during the storm, but they were unable to avoid its intensity according to Gupteshwar Prasad a district officer in Nalanda, residents are being advised by the Disaster Management Department to stay indoors during storms and to avoid sheltering under trees or next to shaky buildings.
The IMD continues to forecast thunderstorms and heavy rainfall for Bihar over the coming days, with warnings issued for several districts including Kishanganj, Araria, Supaul, Madhubani and Sitamarhi, authorities are working tirelessly to restore essential services disrupted by the storms. Efforts are underway to repair more than 18 kilometers of low-tension power lines and over 300 electricity poles that were damaged across Nalanda district alone. Officials have assured residents that power systems will be restored by Saturday evening.
This calamity has cast a pall over several cultural events in Bihar as well, the two-day Kundalpur Mahotsav in Nalanda was abruptly canceled after strong winds uprooted makeshift tents erected near Nandavart Palace, while morning events such as prayers and processions were held as scheduled, evening festivities had to be called off due to safety concerns.
This terrible loss of life and property in Bihar is a sobering reminder of how urgently strong disaster management plans and climate resilience initiatives are needed, in order to protect vulnerable populations from catastrophes like this one in future, preventive measures must be adopted at the state and national levels as extreme weather events become more common throughout India.
Torrential rains, hailstorms, and strong wind gusts that uprooted trees and damaged buildings were all part of the storms that started earlier this week, residents in Bihar were warned of severe weather conditions, including lightning strikes and gusts of up to 50 km/h, by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), which had issued an orange signal for the region, many were taken aback by the storms' strength in spite of these warnings, devotees sought refuge from the storm inside the Devi Sthan temple at Nagwan village, Nalanda, when the Peepal tree collapsed into it, killing several people, authorities are working to rescue people who are buried behind debris in the impacted districts.
The state government has announced an ex-gratia payment of ₹4 lakh to the families of each victim as part of its disaster relief efforts. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar expressed his condolences to the bereaved families and assured them that compensation would be provided promptly, district Magistrate Shashank Shubhankar confirmed that most affected families in Nalanda have already received their compensation, with efforts underway to complete payments for others, additionally assessment teams have been deployed to survey damage to homes and crops, ensuring that further financial aid is distributed according to government rules.
Bihar's agriculture sector has been severely damaged by the storms; rabi crops and onion plantations have reportedly sustained major damage, due to hailstorms that have devastated or flooded their fields, farmers in the impacted districts are suffering enormous losses, there have also been documented livestock deaths, which has increased the financial strain on rural areas, five livestock deaths have been reported in Nalanda alone and post-mortems are being performed to handle the impacted farmers' compensation claims.
Questions have been raised over Bihar's readiness for similar natural disasters in light of the extent of the damage, although lightning strikes are frequent in India during pre-monsoon weather, climate change seems to be contributing to an increase in both their frequency and intensity, official data from Bihar's Economic Survey (2024–25) shows that 275 people died in 2023 alone as a result of lightning-related accidents, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the state administration have now agreed to work together to develop better early warning systems in order to reduce future threats.
The necessity of public knowledge and attention to safety protocols during severe weather conditions has been underscored by local officials in the wake of this catastrophe, people took cover under trees or inside buildings during the storm, but they were unable to avoid its intensity according to Gupteshwar Prasad a district officer in Nalanda, residents are being advised by the Disaster Management Department to stay indoors during storms and to avoid sheltering under trees or next to shaky buildings.
The IMD continues to forecast thunderstorms and heavy rainfall for Bihar over the coming days, with warnings issued for several districts including Kishanganj, Araria, Supaul, Madhubani and Sitamarhi, authorities are working tirelessly to restore essential services disrupted by the storms. Efforts are underway to repair more than 18 kilometers of low-tension power lines and over 300 electricity poles that were damaged across Nalanda district alone. Officials have assured residents that power systems will be restored by Saturday evening.
This calamity has cast a pall over several cultural events in Bihar as well, the two-day Kundalpur Mahotsav in Nalanda was abruptly canceled after strong winds uprooted makeshift tents erected near Nandavart Palace, while morning events such as prayers and processions were held as scheduled, evening festivities had to be called off due to safety concerns.
This terrible loss of life and property in Bihar is a sobering reminder of how urgently strong disaster management plans and climate resilience initiatives are needed, in order to protect vulnerable populations from catastrophes like this one in future, preventive measures must be adopted at the state and national levels as extreme weather events become more common throughout India.
