Lightning Accidents in Zambia

Abstract

This study investigates lightning-related accidents in Zambia in recent years. Being a landlocked Southern African country, Zambia experiences a rather high isokeraunic level which is 16.8 flashes/km2/year. The 10-year information on lightning accidents in the country shows a few striking features that characterize countries with underprivileged communities. There is a significantly high proportion of indoor accidents compared to outdoor accidents that we attribute to the unsafe structures that are home to many families. The same feature gives rise to a comparable number of male and female victims and an infant-child-youth population that usually does not take part in many outdoor activities compared to the breadwinners of the family. The monthly accident pattern coincides with rainfall distribution and the diurnal accident distribution coincides with the convection cloud formation pattern in most tropical countries. Based on the outcome of this study, we propose a few recommendations for the development of lightning safety modules for Zambia and other countries with similar socio-economic features and thunderstorm patterns.