By Adetokunbo Abiola
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There was pandemonium at the Obilubi Obazu Mbieri in Mbaitoli LGA of Imo State where a 20 -year-old first-year student of the Imo State University Owerri, IMSU was reportedly knocked down by thunder following torrential rains.
The victim, identified as Chiamaka Obodo was making a call with her phone inside her parents’ house when lightning struck and she died on the spot before any help could reach her. A resident explained that the 20-year-old undergraduate was inside when the lightning suddenly enveloped the community with the accompanying thunder, killing her.
He said the deceased body has been deposited at the nearest morgue.
In April, a lightning strike killed at least four young people in Ago Dada village, in Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State, on Wednesday evening during a rainfall.
The four youths who were struck by the lightning during the light rain in their homes died on the spot before any help could reach them.
The four young men were inside a house when the lightning suddenly enveloped the community with the accompanying thunder, killing the four of them.
He said, “the lightning was like an electric sparks and a heavy thunderstorm which shook the entire community and by the time we know it, people have been screaming in front of the deceased house after discovering that they have been struck by the lightening.
In June 2020, A tragic scene played out in the ancient town of Ilese, near Ijebu -Ode, in Ijebu North-East local government area of Ogun State, when a mysterious lightning struck three officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) dead.
The incident was confirmed on Wednesday by the FRSC Public Relations Officer in the state, Florence Okpe, but she declined comments on the incident which happened in the early hours of today.
According to reports, the mysterious thunder struck while the FRSC officials were planning for the early morning parade within the vicinity of their office located at the old toll gate.
An eyewitness who declined to be named said that there were about twelve officials in the exact office when the lightning occurred, accompanied by the thunder which struck three of the officers to dead.
Lightning related accidents in Nigeria, a country of high lightning density, have been collected and analyzed. Results show that lightning related human injuries and deaths are very high in Nigeria, where the actual figure may reach as high as 500 deaths per year. However, due to the social stigma attached to lightning incidents and the lack of unbroken news chains reaching media, collection of accurate statistics has become a daunting task.
While there is still debate within the scientific community as to the exact nature of the process, most believe that cloud-to-ground lightning originates when conditions within a thunder head strip electrons from rising water vapor to create an electrical field. Free electrons gather at the bottom of the cloud while positive ions move to the top.
This electrical field is so intense that the negative electrons in the cloud repel electrons on the ground. These ground-level other electrons get pushed far enough into the strata that the surface of the planet becomes positively charged. Once that occurs, air molecules around the cloud ionize, discharging the electrical field via a short-circuit back to Earth, neutralizing the charge difference. That’s lightning—and you don’t want to be anywhere near it when it strikes.
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has urged pilots and passengers to be wary of thunderstorms and other dangerous weather conditions following the onset of rains, stressing that thunderstorms can also cause delays, diversion, and cancellations of flights. It noted that the effects of thunderstorms are dangerous to the aviation industry, particularly the aircraft operations, and passengers, adding that the threats extend to the safety of lives and property.
NiMet noted that rains currently prevalent in the Southern parts of Nigeria and occasionally around the central states, are usually accompanied by severe thunderstorms, which are bound to affect air navigation.
Immediate post-strike symptoms can include caridac arrhythmia, myocardial damage, and pulmonary edema in the circulatory system. Neurologically, you will likely lose consciousness for anywhere from a few minutes to a few years. You could suffer brain damage (because in the cellular structure of your brain literally cooks from the current) resulting in short-term memory loss or amnesia. Longer term neurological maladies include personality changes, learning disabilities, sleep disorders, seizures, Parkansonism (not actual Parkinson’s Disease but a similar constant twitch). Last, victims commonly report numbness and weakness in the limbs, temporary or permanent paralysis, concussions, blown ear drums, cataracts, and a whole lot of pain.
Lightning strikes can produce severe injuries, and have a mortality rate of between 10% and 30%, with up to 80% of survivors sustaining long-term injuries. These severe injuries are not usually caused by thermal burns, since the current is too brief to greatly heat up tissues; instead, nerves and muscles may be directly damaged by the high voltage producing holes in their cell membranes, a process called electroporation.
In a direct strike, the electrical currents in the flash channel pass directly through the victim. The relatively high voltage drop around poorer electrical conductors (such as a human being), causes the surrounding air to ionize and break down, and the external flashover diverts most of the main discharge current so that it passes “around” the body, reducing injury.
Most of us have heard of lightning rods (also known as air terminals). These are typically part of lightning protection systems. If lightning strikes, these systems are designed to help disperse the electrical energy into the ground and influence its path in a way that minimises damage to the structure. The kind of protection these systems offer is not absolute. However, they significantly reduce the risk of fire and structural damage by reducing the energy flowing through the structure itself.
Fortunately, you can add layers of protection to your electrical devices and appliances making them less vulnerable to power surges. The first step is to purchase surge protectors for all your devices instead of plugging them directly into your wall outlets. You can also have an electrician install a comprehensive surge protector in your circuit box which will protect the electrical work for the entire home.
