Two more people have been killed by a lightning strike in Bangladesh, while the natural disaster claimed some 2800 lives across the country in the last 10 years.
In Bandarban, two members of a family were killed by a lightning strike in Lama upazila of the district Monday night. The deceased were identified as Md Enam (45) and his nephew Md Shahid (18).
Chairman of Faitang Union Parishad Jalal Uddin said Enam and Shahid cultivated paddy in ‘Bengali Para’ of Faitang Union.
They used to live in a bamboo house built on a tree to guard their crops. A streak of lightning struck them there around 11:00 pm, leaving them dead on the spot, reports UNB.
The Officer-in-charge of Lama police station Mohammad Alamgir said the bodies of the deceased were recovered and handed over to their relatives.
In a separate report, the news agency said the country has observed some 2,800 deaths by lightning strikes in the last 10 years excluding these two.
State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Dr. Enamur Rahman came up with the figure saying the people were killed in lightning strikes in open fields and haors across the country from 2011 to 2021.
Of them, 179 people were killed in 2011, 201 in 2012, 185 in 2013, 170 in 2014, 226 in 2015, 391 in 2016, 307 in 2017, 359 in 2018, 198 in 2019, 255 in 2020 and 329 in 2021, he said.
The government has planned to establish shelter centres in lightning-prone areas of the country, the minister said on Tuesday while he was speaking at a press briefing at the secretariat ahead of International Day of Disaster Risks Reduction.
“The government has decided to build a concrete house on one decimal of land with one lightning arrester in each house so that people can take shelter there within 20-25 minutes after hearing the warning of lightning,” he said.
People will stay there until the lightning strikes, Enamur added.
Farmers and fishermen can take their breakfast and lunch in the shelter centres and take shelter during storms and hailstorms, said Enamur.
“Dhaka University authorities will conduct the feasibility study on the project involving Tk 476 crore. Once we receive their report, we’ll send the proposal to the Prime Minister for approval,” said the state minister.
Lightning strike has turned out to be the deadliest natural disaster in Bangladesh and it was listed as a disaster in 2015, he said.
Besides, an awareness campaign will be launched asking people to stay indoors during any thunderbolt, said the junior minister.