Lightning strikes turn rainy season into a nightmare

Andile Tshuma, Chronicle Reporter

FOLLOWING the long snail-paced dry and hot summer months, the sight of grey clouds heavy laden with promises of the first rains bring untold joy to farmers who rely on the benevolence of the heavens for their cropping season.
Even nature rejoices, green sprouts of freshly growing grass start forming on the previously brown savanna grasslands.

The livestock as well as wild animals also rejoice at the sudden abundance of water and grazing land options.
However, despite the goodness of the rains, the wet season has become a nightmare for communities, as lightning strikes have brought fear, death and property loss to many.

Rains

Stories from our fathers and their cattle herding days are often punctuated with tales of sheltering under the bellies of their most well behaved oxen if they were caught up in the rains while still in the grazing lands herding their cattle. Funny stories would be told about how they would scramble to shelter under cows so they could express some milk directory into their mouths, oblivious of the pouring rains few inches from the shelter of the big bellied livestock.

All these have become mere stories as young boys are now taught to seek safer shelter during storms, as lightning strikes of cattle are now a common occurrence.
This week, we heard the story of a police officer who died following a lightning strike as he was walking with a colleague in Bulawayo’s Cowdray Park suburb. In the same area, an elderly woman was struck by lightning while tilling her garden last year.

Last week, a herd of about 20 cattle was struck by a bolt of lightning.
More stories have been told about lightning strikes burning down homes and injuring more people and destroying more properties.
Zimbabwe is one of the world’s most lightning-prone countries and according to research, the country is the holder of a world record in lightning-related fatalities, as lightning strikes kill up to 100 people, mostly rural children, during the rainy season.

Police officer who died following a lightning strike as he was walking with a colleague in Bulawayo’s Cowdray Park suburb

According to the Meteorological Services Department of Zimbabwe, the official figures on lightning deaths in the country could just be the tip of the iceberg as it is possible that lightning deaths in the country might actually be under-reported by 20 to 30 percent and lightning injuries by more than 40 percent due to the fact that many deaths and injuries go unreported, according to weather and climate authorities.

The majority of lightning-related fatalities and injuries in the country are usually recorded in rural areas. This is because large buildings provide protection for those inside due to the metal frame of the building and specially designed lightning conductors. People on buses and in cars are also safe because of the metal frames around them.

Zimbabwe has the distinction of being one of lightning’s most favourite places. It is even cited in the Guinness Book of world records as the country where a single bolt of lightning claimed the largest number of victims. This occurred in a village near the eastern border town of Mutare in 1975 when 21 people were killed while sheltering in a hut.
In 2002, 10 people were struck and killed by lightning during a church service in Chitungwiza, while more than 60 others had to be hospitalised with various degrees of burns.

What is unfortunate is that many communities tend to shy away from the scientific explanations of what causes lightning and how to stay safe from it. In many societies lightning is often associated with witchcraft and many believe that some people can actually manufacture lighting somehow and use it as a weapon to unleash on their enemies.
While that would require an expert in that area to dispute, it would be wiser for communities to let science lead and to follow advice from the Civil Protection Unit and to also take precautions as advised by the personnel from the Meteorological Services Department.

To stay safe during a violent storm, it is safer to shelter indoors and to avoid unnecessary movement.
Even if the actual shivers have not yet started, if there are thunder roars and serious lightning strikes, it is safer to be indoors and to avoid walking around until the weather subsides.
Avoid being the tallest object around and never shelter under a tree during a thunderstorm. This is advice that we have been taught from school going days. But sadly, it seems that sometimes people do not heed that advice.

While it will not guarantee 100 percent protection, it is always safer to take some of these precautions than to deliberately put yourself in harm’s way.
According to a research by the University of Zimbabwe in 1991 after, which was conducted over seven years, lightning fatalities in the country average 90 to 12 0annually. Gutu, Binga, Marondera and Rusape were the districts cited as having some of the highest lightning fatalities in the country at the time.

The Meteorological Services Department and Department Of Civil Protection have issued a warning of very heavy rains expected over the next few days in the country. Zimbabweans are therefore encouraged to heed the advice that has been given on best practices to stay safe and to protect their lives and property in the coming days.
No one is immune to lightning strikes and when man attempts to fight or to change nature man rarely ever wins. It is better to stay safe.

You Might Also Like

Comments