Bhubaneswar: Lightning strike claimed lives of as many as 12 persons in Odisha and left 14 others injured on Saturday, the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) said.

Among the deceased, four were from Khordha district, two from Balangir district, and one each from Angul, Boudh, Jagatsinghpur, Gajapati, Puri and Dhenkanal districts.

Ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh will be paid to each of the bereaved families, the state government announced.

Several districts of the state yesterday experienced heavy rainfall along with thunderstorm.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecasted that a cyclonic circulation is likely to form over North Bay of Bengal during the next 24 hours. Under its influence, a low pressure area is likely to form over the same area during the subsequent 48 hours.

The Regional Meteorological Centre here has issued rainfall and thunderstorm warning for several districts of Odisha for today.

"Heavy rainfall very likely to occur at one or two places over the districts of Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Angul, Sambalpur, Deogarh, Boudh, Sonepur, Kalahandi and Kandhamal," the Meteorological Centre predicted.

"Thunderstorm with lightning very likely to occur at one or two places over the districts of Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Bargarh, Sambalpur, Deogarh, Angul, Dhenkanal, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Khurda, Puri, Nayagarh, Ganjam, Kandhamal, Kalahandi, Bolangir, Sonepur and Boudh," it added.