Lightning strikes kill more than 50 in India

[Klaralven]

More than 50 people were killed in lightning strikes across several states in India, authorities said Monday, including 11 people at a historic fort.

Hundreds of people are killed each year in intense storms at the start of the monsoon season, which bring respite from the summer heat across the northern Indian plains.

Media reports said about 10 other people were killed Sunday in the desert state of Rajasthan and authorities added at least 42 died in different districts of Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state.

In Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan, bolts hit two watchtowers at the 12th-century Amer Fort, which were packed with visitors watching the storm cross the city.

"It was already raining when the people were there. They huddled in the towers as the rainfall intensified," Saurabh Tiwari, a senior Jaipur police officer, told AFP.

https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210712-lightning-strikes-kill-more-than-50-in-india

[wnylib]

1. So much for the rarity of lightning strikes.

Depends on where you are, and when.

My grandmother was killed by a lightning strike in Erie County, PA, in 1952. My grandparents' farmhouse was at the top of a hill. Grandma was peeling apples in the kitchen to make pies for a big family picnic for the upcoming July 4th holiday. She opened the windows and front door for a cross breeze because it was so muggy. A storm was threatening, but since it was still a few miles away, she apparently thought that she was safe. But lightning can travel far, quickly. You just don't think it will hit YOU, one little person, indoors, when there are other objects out in the open that it could strike.

[MissMillie]

2. I was just listening to this on BBC/NPR

They talked about 11 people who climbed a tower to watch the storm coming in when the tower was struck by lightning.


In this instance, the title should read: "stupidity kills 11 people in India."