By Chandan Kumar Mandal
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Lightning is one of the deadliest natural disasters in Nepal. Every year, several dozens of people are killed by lightning strikes during the pre-monsoon season.
A study published earlier this month has shown that 1,927 people lost their lives and 20,569 others were affected— injuries or property damage — to lightning strikes in Nepal between 1971 and 2019.
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Despite such devastation, lightning/thunderbolt has received less attention from the state and the country remains ill-prepared to minimise the associated losses.
“The reason behind lightning disasters, despite being a leading hazard, not getting adequate attention is because it doesn’t cause mass casualties like other disasters,” said Adhikari. “While floods and landslides can engulf entire villages, leaving behind trails of destruction, lightning kills people by ones and twos — for example, a farmer working in the field. Although it claims a significant number of lives, lightning occurs in isolated and small patches hence it is not in the priority of the authorities.”
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