Staff Reporter :
In the first eight months of this year, lightning strikes claimed the lives of 297 people across Bangladesh, according to a report by the Save the Society and Thunderstorm Awareness Forum. Among the victims, 242 were men.
The majority of these deaths, 152 in total (48.82%), occurred during agricultural activities such as plowing, harvesting rice, and cutting grass.
Additionally, 18 people died while bringing in cattle, 52 while fishing, 27 at home, and 15 while traveling on empty roads.
Other victims included 14 children and teenagers who were playing in yards, 11 people collecting mangoes, three collecting stones, and one person inside a vehicle.
The forum shared this data during a press conference at its office in Dhaka on Saturday.
The highest number of fatalities occurred in Brahmanbaria, Joypurhat, and Habiganj with 13 deaths each, followed by Feni (12), Cox’s Bazar (10), and Gaibandha (10). From February to September 30, a total of 297 deaths and 73
injuries were attributed to lightning strikes. Among the deceased, 11 were children, 55 were women, including six adolescent girls, and 17 of the male victims were adolescents.
According to the organisation’s data, May recorded the highest number of deaths, with 96 fatalities (79 men, 17 women, two children, two boys, and one girl) and 28 injuries (23 men and five women). June followed with 77 deaths (61 men, 16 women, and five children) and 14 injuries (12 men and two women).
Other monthly figures include:
July: 19 deaths (18 men, one woman) and 10 injuries (nine men, one woman).
August: 17 deaths (14 men, three women, including one child, one boy, and one girl) and two men injured.
September: 47 deaths (41 men, six women, including two children) and 12 injuries (10 men, two women). April: 31 deaths (20 men, 11 women, one child, and two adolescent girls) and one injury (man).
March: Nine deaths (eight men, one woman).
February: One death.