Lightning strikes have killed 50 people in Cambodia so far this year

Lightning strikes killed 50 people and injured 43 others during the first eight months of 2024 – a year after nearly 130 people died after getting hit by lightning, according to Cambodia’s National Committee for Disaster Management.

The high rates of death underscore the need for more public awareness, electrician Pon Robang told Radio Free Asia.

In order to avoid lightning strikes, farmers and others should remember to avoid taking refuge under tall trees, he said. They should also stay away from water sources during storms. 

Additionally, houses and high-rise commercial buildings should be equipped with lightning poles, he said.

“These need to be tested during installation because I have seen some buildings burned by lightning,” he said.

Lightning current is strong enough to cause heart attacks, skin burns and damage to people’s nervous systems.

Most of the lightning strikes this year have occurred in Siem Reap, Battambang and and Banteay Meanchey provinces in the country’s northwest and Prey Veng and Tbong Khmum provinces in the east, according to the committee.

A farmer in Battambang province’s Sangke district, Sem Bunthy, told RFA that he had never seen the government try to educate people about lightning strikes. 

“No one comes to tell us anything when we suffer from storms or lightning,” he said. “We just live among our people. If we cannot solve the problem, there’s nothing we can do. We depend on ourselves.”  

RFA was unable to reach National Disaster Management Committee spokesman Soth Kimkol Mony on Sept. 9 to ask further questions.

Translated by Sum Sok Ry. Edited by Matt Reed.