Lightning, rains kill 36 people in Pakistan as authorities declare a state of emergency in southwest
Source: AP
By MUNIR AHMED
Updated 6:21 AM CDT, April 15, 2024
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Lightning and heavy rains have killed at least 36 people, mostly farmers, across Pakistan in the past three days, officials said Monday, as authorities in the country’s southwest declared a state of emergency.
Most of the deaths occurred when lightning struck farmers harvesting wheat and rains caused houses to collapse in eastern Punjab province, said Arfan Kathia, a spokesman for the provincial disaster management authority. He said more rains were expected this week.
Rain also lashed the capital, Islamabad, and killed seven people in southwestern Baluchistan province over the weekend, and eight others died in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan. Rainwaters flooded streets in the northwestern city of Peshawar and in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan, where authorities declared a state of emergency.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in televised remarks that he had ordered authorities to provide relief aid in regions hit by rains. Pakistan’s water reservoirs would improve because of the rains, he said, while expressing concern over the deaths and damage.
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/pakistan-rains-lightning-weather-a8d8035be76856a1538eb347a18ed675
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If you're out in a field as a farmer would be, lightning can suddenly strike and you don't have anywhere to go. Also it isn't smart to run and stand under a tree either. The tree is probably the first thing the lightning will hit.
It's possible to survive being hit as long as you aren't standing in water. I know someone who was golfing one day and got struck by lightning. He was knocked down and got some superficial burns, but he survived it OK. He told me his ears were ringing for days afterwards.
