The Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, and the North Eastern Space Applications Centre (NESAC) signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to augment the efforts toward lightning risk reduction over Assam is a timely initiative. Official data highlights that lightning claims, on average, over 35 human lives annually, besides scores of animals in the state. Yet, the alarming increase in fatal lightning strikes not getting prominence in public discourse on disaster risk reduction holds out the mirror to the society and the government on the status of disaster awareness and preparedness in the state. It is heartening to know that the MoU is aimed at enhancing government resource allocation for disaster risk reduction and improving lightning safety measures, including the timely dissemination of alerts and raising lightning safety awareness at the grassroots level. Assam does not figure among the ten states covered by the Mitigation Project on Lightning Safety initiated by the central government, and the MoU will help the state mobilise additional resources and expertise for lightning risk reduction. The majority of the lightning-related victims being mostly farmers and agricultural workers working in the open on the farm fields demands prioritising the awareness drive reaching out to each and every rural household. The lightning alert app developed by IITM can send out real-time alerts when lightning is within 20-40 km, but how many people in the state are aware of it or have downloaded it to remain updated with the alerts is the pertinent question that needs to be asked while assessing the level of awareness among the people. Apart from English and Hindi, Assamese and Boro are among the 16 languages in which users can access information and alerts provided by the app. According to information provided by the app, lightning strikes the earth 50 to 100 times each second, over 20,000 people get affected all over the world, and more than 2,000 people die in India every year. The app also provides some basic Do’s and Don’ts during thunderstorms and states that buildings are best for shelter, but if no buildings are available, people can find protection in a cave, ditch, or canyon. It cautions that trees are not good cover and tall trees attract lightning. The critical advice provided in the list is if one cannot find shelter, avoiding the tallest object in the area is the best option, and if there is any isolated tree, then to keep away from the tree – at least twice the height of such trees. The Damini app provides a simple arithmetic tip to remember – counting the seconds between the flash and the thunder and dividing by three to estimate the person’s distance in km. Other advisories include staying away from anything that could conduct electricity, such as fireplaces, radiators, stoves, metal pipes, sinks and phones; getting out of water; getting off small boats; and refraining from using any plug-in electrical appliances or electric razors. It lists large enclosed buildings and enclosed metal vehicles as safe places and calls for seeking shelter when someone hears the thunder or sees dark clouds developing overhead or cloud-to-cloud lightning. Disaster risk prevention tips are best learnt at home, in schools or at community gatherings and interactions. The ASDMA undertaking special awareness drives in collaboration with educational institutions, social institutions, panchayats, and agricultural departments at periodic intervals can raise awareness about the lightning disaster. The rapid spread of the internet and increase in the number of smartphone users in the state makes it easier to increase the number of users of the Damini App to remain updated with real-time lightning alerts. The persisting digital divide with low number of smartphone users among the rural population is a challenge, as a large section of people in rural Assam do not own a mobile phone. The silver lining is that nearly most of the mobile owners in the state, both in urban and rural areas, have smartphones, and this provides strong ground for spreading awareness of the Damini App in the state. Using offline media channels to disseminate alerts in thunderstorms and lightning can help overcome the challenge of the digital divide. Merely issuing the alerts or knowing alerts is not going to ensure risk prevention if the awareness of dos and don’ts during lightning is not spread. While the scale of devastation caused by flood and erosion is much bigger than lightning risks, the surge in deaths due to lightning strikes demands mainstreaming the awareness to reduce associated risks. Scientific studies indicate the increase in lightning strikes is due to increase in frequency of extreme weather on account of climate change. The state and the central government supporting more studies will go a long way in improving the database on lightning strikes and help develop more advanced apps to improve dissemination of alerts for risk reduction.