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Research article
First published April 2007

Lightning fatalities in the Transkei sub-region of South Africa

B.L. Meel, MBBS MD DHSM (Natal) DOH (Wits) MPhil HIV/AIDS Management (Stellenbosch)View all authors and affiliations
Volume 47, Issue 2
https://doi.org/10.1258/rsmmsl.47.2.161

Abstract

Lightning is a particularly unsettling product of bad weather. It kills more people than other natural disasters such as floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes, but, because lightning usually kills people one at a time, it tends to be an underrated hazard. High risk groups are uneducated, unsheltered and rural people. This study was carried out to determine the incidence of lightning fatalities in the Transkei sub-region. It is a review of records between 1993 and 2004 from the medico-legal autopsies at Umtata General Hospital (UGH).
During the study period there were 10,860 autopsies performed on those who died of trauma and other unnatural circumstances which included 151(1.4%) lightning fatalities. This represents 0.31 deaths per million per year. The highest (0.5/million) was in 1999, and the lowest (0.13/million) in 1997. The age of the victims ranged from 1 to 82 years, with a mean of 22 years. Males and females were almost equally represented (50%). The highest number of deaths (26.5%) was in the age group of 11 to 20 years, and the lowest number (2.7%) in the age group of 70+ years. There is a high incidence of lightning fatalities in the Transkei sub-region of South Africa. People need to be educated to disregard the myths of lightning strike.

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Published In

Volume 47, Issue 2
Pages: 161 - 164
Article first published: April 2007
Issue published: April 2007

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© Royal Society of Medicine Press Limited.
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PubMed: 17520962

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B.L. Meel, MBBS MD DHSM (Natal) DOH (Wits) MPhil HIV/AIDS Management (Stellenbosch)
Professor and Head of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Walter Sisulu University for Technology and Science, Mthatha 5117, South Africa.
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Notes

Correspondence: B.L Meel. Email: [email protected]

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