Lightning strikes kill 340 people across Bangladesh in 13 months

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Lightning strikes kill 340 people across Bangladesh in 13 months

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Bangladesh

Daily Bangla Times: At least 340 people, including 239 men and 12 children, were killed across Bangladesh by lightning strikes from April 2022 to May 3, 2023 , according to a report published by the Save the Society and Thunderstorm Awareness Forum on Thursday.

This year 66 people, including 63 men, died and eight were injured by the strikes between March 15 and May 3. The first death occurred on March 15, said a press release.

Of them, 51 died while doing agricultural work, 11 were killed while on boats or fishing, and one died while collecting mangoes during nor’wester.

This year, Sunamganj witnessed the highest number of deaths by the lightning strikes as seven people died in the district.

The SSTF president Kabirul Bashar and general secretary Rashim Molla urged the government to include topics related to lightning strikes in textbooks to create awareness among the people, install lightning protection towers and plant tall and fast-growing trees in open spaces.

Lightning strikes killed 265 people in 2019, 230 in 2020, and 231 between January and August 5 in 2021, according to the SSTF.

The organisation has been monitoring lightning-related casualties since 2019.