Lightning: The dark side of nature

WHENEVER it rains or threatens to rain, fear sweeps through Onesphore Gandika’s mind. The 64-year-old, a resident of Kinunu Village in Boneza Sector, Rutsiro District in the Western Province, has got a nasty experience with lightning.On November 14, the old man was amongst 11 people who were struck by lightning as they attended a meeting on Bugarura Island. Eight of them were seriously injured and were admitted at Kibuye Hospital in the nearby Karongi District.“It was around 3pm and the meeting was almost ending when it started raining. Many of us rushed to nearby households to seek shelter as we waited for the rain to subside,” Gandika recounts.“Thunderbolt hit the area twice but with no damage. It was then followed by lightning that struck and burnt some of us. I was hit on the thigh,” he adds.Though Gandika was not seriously injured, eight of his colleagues sustained serious injuries and were admitted to hospital. Luckily, all of them survived. For his part, Gandika was rushed to a local health centre where he was examined, given drugs and discharged the same day.“I was traumatised. Whenever it rains, I fear lightning might strike and I am not sure whether I will be lucky again,” Gandika says.“I know what it means to be struck by lightning. I have experienced it. It is terrible,” he adds.Incidents like the one on Bugarura Island have become common in Boneza Sector and the entire Rutsiro District. Since last year, eight people have died in the sector after being struck by lightning, according to official figures.The incidents have become common that whenever it rains or it is about to rain, people become nervous and prepare for the worst, according to residents and local leaders’ accounts.The latest involved a 10-year-old child who passed away after being struck by lightning, while another man sustained serious injuries, according to Boneza Sector officials.“Lighting has become an issue of concern. Whenever it rains, people panic. Some even switch off their mobile phones as a precautionary measure,” says Athanase Bikorimana, the sector’s Accounting Secretary.Bikorimana says local leaders have been carrying out sensitisation campaigns to limit the damage caused by lightning.He also says authorities have been encouraging residents to install lightning conductors on their buildings to mitigate the dangers.“The challenge is that lightning conductors are few and expensive,” Bikorimana says, noting that such facilities have only been installed at the sector’s office, a local health centre and at a building belonging to a local businessman. Deadly phenomenonScientists define lightning as “a powerful electrical discharge between the electrically charged regions within clouds or between a cloud and the Earth’s surface.”Scientists who have studied the phenomenon argue that the electric current is very hot and causes the air around it to expand very quickly, which in turn makes thunder (the sound caused by lightning). This happens between clouds but sometimes it goes from cloud to ground and this is when it can strike a person. It is one of the most deadly natural phenomenon in the world, according to scientists.It is estimated that about 50 to 100 lightning bolts strike the Earth every second, sometimes leading to loss of lives. An estimated 24,000 people are killed by lightning strikes around the world annually and about 240,000 are injured, according to available figures. In Rwanda, figures from the Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugees Affairs (Midimar) show that since July, 16 people have died while 23 others have sustained injuries after being struck by lightning.The numbers show that the phenomenon is as deadly as other natural calamities, such as floods and landslides, which have also claimed many lives. However, it seems the issue of lightning has got less attention compared to other natural disasters.Rutsiro, Rusizi and Nyamasheke districts, all in the western part of the country, remain the most vulnerable areas in the country, according to Philippe Habinshuti, Midimar’s Acting Director for Disaster Management.Many of the lightning incidents and related deaths were recorded in the three districts, Habinshuti explains.However, it remains unclear why the three districts are the most vulnerable. Officials say efforts are underway to determine the reason behind such a high vulnerability.Habinshuti told The New Times last week that research to determine the cause of such high exposure to lightning is in its final stages and results might be released before the end of this year.It is being carried out by experts from the Ministry of Education, tasked to coordinate all research activities in the country, the official said.The districts are geographically situated in a high altitude area, are all mountainous and border Lake Kivu, a location that might be increasing their vulnerability to lightning strikes.PreventionMeanwhile, Habinshuti says efforts are underway to limit the damage caused by lightning strikes.They include public education and sensitisation campaigns on how to prevent being struck by lightning as well as encouraging the installation of lightning conductors on all public buildings and residential houses.Residents are also encouraged to avoid seeking shelter under isolated trees and remain indoors when it rains.“We are planning to make it compulsory for all public places and buildings to have lightning conductors,” the official said.A document elaborated by the Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs which was circulated throughout the country, lists a number of dos and don’ts that individuals should follow to avoid lightning strikes.The measures include avoiding open spaces, hills and steep slopes, staying away from trees, getting off bikes and motorcycles, avoid wet and water areas, avoid standing near open windows as well as avoiding handling electrical equipment such us telephones, radios and TV sets, amongst others. Residents should also stay away from raised structures such as towers, tall trees, fences, telephone masts, or power lines. Instead, residents are encouraged to stay indoors or seek shelter inside cars because, generally, cars have built-in rods to divert strikes into the ground“We are encouraging local leaders to circulate the document to residents to make sure they are educated on how to behave in case of a thunderstorm,” Habinshuti notes.Nyamasheke District mayor Jean Baptiste Habyarimana told The New Times that efforts to educate the community on the dangers of lightning and how to avoid it are paying off.While the district used to record between eight to ten deaths each rainy season (normally between September and November), this year, they have only recorded two deaths over the same period, Habyarimana said.“This is a significant drop which we think might be a result of continuous sensitisation campaigns,” he said.Habyarimana said this year the district committed, through its annual performance contracts, to install lightning rods on all public buildings which include government offices, health centres, schools and hospitals, among others.

National

Lightning: The dark side of nature