Odisha accounted for highest number of deaths due to natural hazards in 2021 : NCRB

Odisha accounted for the highest number of deaths in the country due to natural hazards in 2021, according to a report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).

A total 1746 people died due to natural hazards like lightning, heat stroke and landslides, rain and floods among others, which is a quarter of the fatalities in the country due to such causes last year, according to the report.

It marked a rise of 22.3 per cent compared to 1428 deaths the previous year, it said.

Bihar reported 830 fatalities due to the same cause during the period, which was the second highest in the country. In the country the number of deaths due to natural hazards reduced by 3.8 per cent to 7126, according to the recently-published 'Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India, 2021' of the National Crime Records Bureau.

Odisha reported 287 deaths due to lightning, while 15 people lost their lives due to heatstroke and two from landslides, it said.

The state accounted for the highest number of fatalities due to boat capsize and accidental fires and came second in the number of people killed by animals, snakebites and lightning, according to the NCRB report.

The state, however, reported zero death in cyclone, flood, torrential rain and forest fire.

The number of suicides in the state during 2021 increased by 1.9 per cent as 5,651 people, including 834 students, ended their lives.

A staggering 4,033 people committed suicide due to family problems and 135 cases were due to failure in examination, the report said.

Seventynine people died due to boat capsize in the state during the year, which is nearly one-third of such deaths in the country. As many as 1,551 people drowned and 97 were electrocuted in Odisha during the period.

There were 1,248 deaths due to accidental fires. Of them 386 people died due to electrical short circuits, the highest in the country in this aspect.

At least 1,019 people died due to snakebites and 128 people were killed by animals.

The state also topped in deaths caused due to falls from vehicles. There were 1,434 such deaths.

Odisha registered 19,663 accidental deaths and the rate per 1 lac population is 42.9, which is more than the national average of 29.1. It saw 5,387 deaths in road and rail accidents, the report added.