Bangladesh registers 329 deaths from lightning strikes in 9 months

Lightning strikes have claimed the lives of as many as 329 people within about nine and a half months of 2021, according to government data.

All the fatalities occurred in open spaces, so the government is planning to set up lightning shelters, State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Enamur Rahman said on Tuesday with the International Day for Disaster Reduction set to be observed worldwide on Wednesday.

Over the past decade, the government set up storm shelters in coastal areas to save lives during disasters and successfully reduced the damage caused by cyclones.

However, deaths and sufferings caused by lightning strikes and floods still remain a concern.

Lightning strike was officially included among national disasters in 2015 when it caused 226 fatalities in a year.

River erosion, mostly during floods, causes widespread damage as well. Enamur said the government will provide homes to 9,445 families affected by river erosion.  

“Although Bangladesh did not experience too much flooding this year, a lot of river erosions did occur,” he said, adding that a list of the victims was sent to the Prime Minister’s Office.

The government has accommodated them with temporary homes for now. They will all receive houses along with two decimal lands, said the state minister.

He admitted Bangladesh achieved little to tackle earthquakes. If buildings are constructed following the National Building Code, they will be resistant to up to 75 magnitude quakes, according to him.

Bangladesh is observing the International Day for Disaster Reduction with added fervour on the birth centenary celebration of Bangbandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and 50 years of the Cyclone Preparedness Programme. This year’s theme for the day is “Working Together to Reduce Risk”.

One of the most disaster prone countries due to its geographical location and the adverse effects of climate change, Bangladesh was heavily reliant on relief management and rehabilitation to counter the disaster-induced damages until the 1960s, Enamur said.

But the government is now bringing structural and infrastructural changes to life in a planned fashion to minimise the loss of lives and assets and create a disaster tolerant, sustainable and safe Bangladesh, he said.