Lightning killed 72 people in Cambodia in the first nine months of 2017, A senior disaster control official said on Friday.

Nhim Vanda, first Vice President of the country’s National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM), however, said the rate of lightning in 2017 was 28 per cent less compared to 2016 in the same period.

The official said during the celebration of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Day for Disaster Management in Phnom Penh that beside lightning fatalities, flash floods and storms also killed 33 others between January and September this year.

He added that “although the fatal numbers from lightning has reduced, lightning remains the leading cause of death among deaths from natural disasters.”

Lightning happens often during rainy season from May to October, he said, adding that to avoid the dangers of lightning, people should stay indoors whenever it was raining.

-Xinhua