Freak Hailstorm Leaves 10 Dead in Bangladesh

A violent series of fatal thunderstorms ripped through Bangladesh, killing 10 and severely injuring dozens of others on 25 February 2016. Several southwest districts including Chittagong and Barisal, as well as the city of Dhaka experienced the worst of the damage.

The below video shows pockets of lightning moving across the area during the storm. In just a 12 hour period, Earth Networks Total Lightning Network detected over 13,000 strikes of lightning. Both cloud-to-ground (yellow) and in-cloud (purple) lightning are included in this video.

Lightning claimed the lives of two during this storm. The in-cloud lightning detection could have played an important role in warning those in the area that other forms of dangerous weather, like hail, were expected. In-cloud lightning makes up about 80% of all lightning strikes and is often a precursor to other dangerous weather conditions like the hail that battered Bangladesh, high winds speeds, tornadoes, and heavy rains. Earth Networks’ exclusive ability to detect in-cloud lightning can significantly improve severe weather warning times over radar and other technologies with lead times of up to 30 minutes faster.

Photo:Panarmio.com

Incident Report

• In Moulvibazar, 2 were killed by lightning strikes
• In Dhaka, 13 community health centre workers were injured by hail while protesting
• In Munshinganj, 25 grade 10 students of Kajishal Hajigaon Humanyun Molla High School were injured when the tin roof collapse due to heavy rains
• In Naraynganj, 6 died when a traveler capsized in Dhalweshawri River
• In Narsinghdi, 2 sisters died when a wall collapsed on them during the storm