Freak Storms Roll Through Cambodia

Freak storms containing heavy rain, fast wind gusts and high frequencies of lightning violently rolled through Cambodia on Tuesday 3 May 2016.

In three districts of Oddar Meanchey, the storm killed a teenage boy, injured seven others and destroyed over 80 homes.

The 13 year-old boy was killed while reading a book in his home while five other members of the home were injured when the force of the strike collapsed the walls and the roof.

The video below shows the Total Lightning for the area during the hours of the storm. Earth Networks detected over 900 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes during a 12-hour period on 3 April. These storms also made their way to the province’s Chong Kal district. That area faced the storms around mid afternoon until 7pm local time. High wind gusts blew roofs from homes, destroyed TV and radio antennas and decimated an additional 88 homes.

Dangerous storms have been to blame for a great deal of death and damage in Cambodia during the first four months of 2016. According to the National Committee for Disaster Management, four people have been killed and an addition 47 injured due to storms while an additional 8 deaths and eleven injuries can be directly attributed to lightning. Buildings have also taken a beating, as well. Over 233 homes have been destroyed while 1,022 more have been left damaged. A dozen schools, markets and government buildings have also sustained damage during these stormy months.