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Andhra Pradesh lightning storms killed over 20 people on Sunday evening. Most of the people killed across the southeastern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh were farm workers. Lightning is common during India's rainy season, which lasts from June through September, but Sunday's lightning fatalities were unusually high, according to CBS News on Monday. 

 

Andhra Pradesh lightning storms kill over 20 people in southeastern India
Andhra Pradesh lightning / YouTube by The Times of India

Death toll numbers vary, ranging from 20 people killed all the way up to 32 dead. But the general consensus is that more than 20 people died over the weekend from deadly lightning strikes in the Andhra Pradesh state alone. The lightning was a product of several thunderstorms that unleashed heavy rains across eight districts in Andhra Pradesh, India on Sunday evening. 

N. Chandrababu Naidu, Chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, said the deaths occurred in the districts of Nellore, Prakasam, Guntur, Krishna, East Godavari, Anantapur and Srikakulam. Reportedly, most of the people killed were farm laborers working in fields. Six of them were women, including 45-year-old J. Sankaramma who died from burns after she was struck by lightning in the Mupalla village of Penamalur. 

According to weather officials in Hyderabad, the Andhra Pradesh state capital, the torrential rains were a result of a low-pressure system over the Bay of Bengal. Sunday's deadly storms are not common, as the area is prone to drought. BBC reports that nine people were also killed in the eastern Indian state of Orissa. Several others were injured in Andhra Pradesh, as well as Orissa. 

Two teams of women were playing cricket on Sunday when the lightning storms hit. They narrowly missed injury and even death when lightning struck a palm tree close to where they were playing in the Andhra Pradesh district of Guntur. The tree caught fire and the match was called off. One senior cricket official said it was a miraculous escape for the players as well as the staff.

AccuWeather warns to stay indoors during a lightning storm if possible and stay away from open fields, trees and anything metal that might conduct electricity. Chief Minister Naidu has promised to pay Andhra Pradesh lightning victims 4 Lakh Rupees in compensation. This translates to more than $6,000.


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"Words have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of their reality." Edgar Allan Poe.

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