Lightning Strike Deaths

I was surprised to read this article in the Phnom Penh Post this week, apparently the number of lightning deaths in Cambodia for the first 6 months of the year is already over 100 (more than the total for the whole of last year). There's no doubt there are some impressive storms here in the rainy season, and the country is very flat with few trees which I guess makes people particularly vulnerable, but I was still horrified that so many people each year are killed by lightning. To put it in perspective, this compares to a rate of 5-10 people killed per year in Australia (with a population of approximately 21 million), and 5 killed per year in the UK (with a population of almost 60 million). With Cambodia's population at only 14 million, this is an incredibly high figure.

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2009063026802/National-news/lightning-deaths-in-2009-so-far-surpass-total-for-all-of-last-year.html