Lightning in Svay Rieng province on Tuesday evening killed a 30-year-old pregnant woman, an official said, bringing the total number of people killed by lightning across the country this year to 25.
Touch Srey—who was five months pregnant—died instantly when lightning struck her inside her home in Svay Teap district’s Romaing Thkorl commune, according to the commune police chief, Ton Saran.
“The lightning struck her dead as she pushed the corrugated tin door shut against the wind,” Mr Saran said.
Ms Srey’s three children saw their mother die and left the house to seek help from their neighbors, Mr Saran said.
“The villagers now are very afraid of lightning, and run into their homes when it rains,” Mr Saran added.
On Monday and Tuesday, heavy storms in the provinces of Battambang, Banteay Meanchey and Kompong Thom damaged nearly 200 homes.
Two storms in Banteay Meanchey’s Mongkol Borei district destroyed 28 houses, and ripped the roofs and walls off 14 others, said the provincial deputy director of the Cambodian Red Cross, Thong Chanrethy.
On Tuesday, storms destroyed four homes and damaged 12 more in Svay Chek district, Mr Charethy added.
“This year there are a lot of storms and the number of families affected by them has increased a lot since last year,” Mr Chanrethy said.
In Kompong Thom’s Kompong Svay district, 70 houses were damaged by a storm in two locations on Tuesday, provincial director of the Cambodian Red Cross Douk Sida said.
The same day a storm in Battambang’s Banan district destroyed nine houses and took the roofs and walls from 46 others, according to district police chief Buth Sambo.
Thirty-five storms have caused damage across Cambodia in the first four months of the year, said Key Vy, deputy director of information and public relations at the National Committee for Disaster Management.
These storms have killed two people and injured 18. They have also destroyed 231 houses and damaged 1,083 others, Mr Vy added.