Uganda lightning kills often; the latest: a teacher and her students
Lightning strikes have reportedly killed many people in Uganda.
June 30th, 2011
11:23 AM ET

Uganda lightning kills often; the latest: a teacher and her students

A lightning strike in rural western Uganda has killed a schoolteacher and at least 20 students, numerous outlets are reporting.

The strike happened at the Runyanya primary school, and almost 100 more people were injured, The Christian Science Monitor says. The newspaper points out that while the strike could seem to be a freak occurrence, there has been an uptick in lightning strikes in the region. The Monitor cites the state-run daily New Vision, which reports that at least 40 people nationwide have died from lightning strikes recently. The Huffington Post reports that lightning kills 15 people a week in Uganda.

Unseasonably heavy rainfall, resulting from an abnormal increase in moist air blowing across the Congo basin from the Atlantic, may have something to with the lightning, experts say.

"Lightning by its nature and evolution is a very unpredictable event," Michael Nkalubo, the country's commissioner for meteorology, told local journalists at a briefing, according to the Monitor. "It can strike in the most unexpected places and do the most unexpected damage."

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Filed under: Uganda • Weather
soundoff (10 Responses)
  1. jon

    this is nothing more thenGods messege to the sinful uganda people.

    June 30, 2011 at 12:06 pm | Report abuse |
  2. leeintulsa

    One lightning strike kills 20 people? How?

    June 30, 2011 at 12:24 pm | Report abuse |
  3. Watcher

    It's not real lightning, man! The U.S. government has Intelligent Weather Technology! They cant test it out on us so they use the Third World as Guinea Pigs!

    June 30, 2011 at 12:33 pm | Report abuse |
  4. banasy

    @jon:
    That's absurd.

    @Watcher:
    That's absurd.

    @leeintulsa:
    I don't know; maybe they were standing in water?

    June 30, 2011 at 1:15 pm | Report abuse |
  5. Pop

    The U.S. GOVERNMENT does control the weather believe or not u people dont seem to want to believe that

    June 30, 2011 at 1:48 pm | Report abuse |
  6. COBRA COMMANDER

    MY weather dominater is finnaly complete... now i can control the wether. All of you will now bow down and yeild to my power...

    June 30, 2011 at 2:48 pm | Report abuse |
  7. The Brain

    @Pop:
    To what end? To what freaking end? If the US controls the weather, wouldn't it make it rain to put out the out-of-control wildfires? Wouldn't it stop the weather patterns that created tornados? Really? Why would they want to control the weather? Is it because they....
    WANT TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD????
    Bwa ha ha ha ha ha!!!!!!!

    June 30, 2011 at 5:41 pm | Report abuse |
  8. fernace

    This makes me think of that Tom Cruise movie, War Of The Worlds. It all started with the "thunder clouds" & "lightning"! Something to think about!? @ banasy, "standing in water," good 1, lol!!

    June 30, 2011 at 11:20 pm | Report abuse |
  9. Mad Hatter

    Maybe its the static electricity from rubbing those burly heads?

    June 30, 2011 at 11:23 pm | Report abuse |
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    April 10, 2012 at 11:23 pm | Report abuse |
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