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ACLENet is a co-sponsor of the
International Conference on Lightning Protection (ICLP2022),
one of the most prestigious international lightning protection conferences.
It is coming to the African continent for the first time in 2022 and
over 200 abstracts have been submitted!
For a video of Cape Town where the conference is being held, go to the bottom of this newsletter or click here.
We look forward to seeing you there!
LEAD STORY
22 Cattle struck dead by Lightning in northern KwaZulu-Natal

KZN Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) MEC Bongiwe Sithole-Moloi said she would be visiting the area on Tuesday where the cattle were killed and the assessment would include coming up with preventive measures to mitigate the effects of such disasters in the future.

The department added that the visit will include the monitoring of affected
farmers and those who were left destitute by the deaths of their animals.
Read more
There have been multiple news reports of cattle killed at several areas in South African in January and February 2022. This video of this incident, not reported in the news, is courtesy of Ryan Blumenthal,  MD, PHD.
DEVASTATING Loss of Cattle Caused by Lightning  
We usually talk about people being killed in this editorial space, but let us look at another aspect of loss people can suffer from lightning. In this last month, February 2022, many lightning incidents involving loss of livestock, especially cattle, were reported across Africa.
  1. 9 February 2022 - Lightning kills 29-year-old man in Chitipa [Malawi]. - 2 cows and 26 people killed since the beginning of the rainy season 
  2. 13 February 2022 - Five people killed in separate incidents and a widowed communal farmer suffered severe losses when lightning killed her whole herd of cattle at Okakarara [Namibia]
  3. 21 February 2022 - 22 head of cattle struck dead by lightning in northern KwaZulu-Natal over the weekend [South Africa] 
  4. 28 February 2022 - 1 strike, 4 cattle killed in Free state [South Africa] This was the second incident (see video above of the first) reported via WhatsApp platform to the lightning research and safety group by Ryan Blumenthal.
People living in rural Africa generally have little access to insurance, banks, the stock market, or other forms of investment. Their wealth is measured primarily in their livestock - cattle, goats, and other animals. It is not the crash of the stock market but the crash of thunder that wipes our their wealth - and in most cases, these animals have been raised from birth and have a personal meaning for the families affected. In one instance, cows belonging to a widow, her only source of income, were wiped out by a lightning strike.
 
Open air activities have the highest risk of lightning related deaths, injury, and property damage, not only to people but to their animals. It should also be recalled that most of these activities have no insurance cover, therefore, no compensation. 
 
Policy makers in government responsible for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) should recognize the plight of families who lose property due to severe weather, especially in agriculture, and design appropriate measures for prevention, if possible, and compensation if prevention efforts fail.
DONATE

African Lightning Events Reported in February
-- and some newly reported for January
A record number of deaths and injuries occurred this month -- DONATE
Fatal lightning strike at the stadium during the Africa Cup of Nations match in Cameroon
24 January 2022
Read more
Lightning strikes kill 26 people in Malawi
(multiple reports)
24 January 2022
Read more
Lightning kills two pupils, injures four others in Kasese
Uganda
(3 other incidents also reported)
25 January 2022
Read more
Rwanda: Disasters Kill 15, Injure 37 in Less Than a Month
Rwanda
(multiple disasters summarized)
25 January 2022
Read more
26 dead after high-voltage power cable snaps in Congo market
DRC
2 February 2022
Read more
Lightning kills 29-year-old man in Chitipa
Malawi
 9 February 2022
Read more
Lightning during sunshine kills 12 year old boy in Rwanda
 12 February 2022
Read more
Lightning kills five people in two days
Namibia
12 & 13 February 2022 
Read more
Lightning strike kills five
Namibia
(second report)
12 & 13 February 2022
Read more
Lightning kills four northerners
Namibia
 13 February 2022
Read more
7-year-old child dies after being struck by lightning in Harding
Southern KZN
South Africa
(many incidents reported)
17 February 2022
Read more
Lightning strikes one dead in Rutsiro
Rwanda
 18 February 2022
Read more
Nyamasheke: Lightning kills 16-year-old girl
Rwanda
 20 February 2022
Reported by Frank Shumbusho, Citizen Reporter
Read more
Two Injured in Ngorongoro Lightning Strike
Tanzania
21 February 2022
Read more
22 head of cattle struck dead by lightning in northern KwaZulu-Natal over the weekend
South Africa
21 February 2022
Read more
Girl killed, three injured by lightning strike in Tanzania
21 February 2022
Read more
1 killed in Tanzania lightning strike – House Fire
Tanzania
22 February 2022
Read more
Weatherman warns of lightning strikes as heavy rains intensify
Rwanda
Reported by Frank Shumbusho, Citizen Reporter
23 February 2022
Read more
Update on Three February 2022 Lightning Events in Rwanda 
Reports by email from Frank Shumbusho
23 & 24 February 2022
Read more
Kamonyi: Lightning strikes two children, destroys 11 houses
Rwanda
25 February 2022
Read more
4 cattle killed in Vrede Freestate
South Africa
Reported by
Ryan Blumenthal, MD, PhD
25 February 2022
Read more
Life Saved after lightning strike hits two men
South Africa
Reported by
Ryan Blumenthal, MD, PhD
25 February 2022
Read more
Seven farmers killed by lightning strike in southern Tanzania
26 & 27 February 2022
Read more
ACLENet Annual Report for 2021
This video shows the city of Cape Town, South Africa, where the
International Conference on Lightning Protection 2022 will be held.
Click here for an interactive WORLD MAP of LIGHTNING. 
If you keep moving into the US map, you can get down to the state/county level of lightning for the contiguous 48 states
Click to read past Newsletters
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