Lightning Kills 30 Bangladeshis in 10 Days

Thirty people died as a result of being struck by lightning in a short 10-day period in Bangladesh. These deaths occurred between 24 March and 2 April as nor ’westers began to hit the country during the month of March. 31 March saw 13 deaths in a single day, spread out among seven districts. Of the 30 individuals killed during this fatal 10 day span, many were children and teenagers.

Photo: BBC

During a 12-hour period, more than 12,000 lightning strikes covered the country killing 13 and leaving 21 injured. The video below powered by Earth Networks Total Lightning Network shows the high frequency of the lightning moving through Bangladesh.

Most of the lightning victims on this day were farmers working on the field who didn’t have a substantial shelter to hide from the storm. The lightning strikes came swiftly and steadily throughout most of the region. The video below shows the strongest cells of the storm being tracked by Earth Networks over the capital of Dhaka.

Bangladesh’s Lightning Epidemic

Bangladesh is no stranger to lightning killing people. A total of 179 people were killed in 2011 by lightning in Bangladesh. 58 of those deaths were in the month of May alone. As the most dangerous time of the year for lightning strikes in Bangladesh approaches, the Bangladesh Meteorological Department and the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society have started awareness campaigns on social media to hopefully reduce the amount of deaths and injury from lightning this year. The Dhaka Tribune shared the below tips: