PHNOM PENH, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- Lightning strikes had claimed 85 lives in Cambodia in the first nine months of 2019, down 13 percent from 96 deaths over the same period last year, a disaster control spokesman said on Tuesday.
Besides the fatalities, thunderbolts had injured 75 others during the January-September period this year, said Keo Vy, the spokesman for the National Committee for Disaster Management.
"To avoid the dangers of lightning strikes, people, especially those living in rural areas, should stay in houses or shelters when there is rain," he told Xinhua.
According to the spokesman, lightning strikes occur often during the rainy season from May to October.
In addition to the death toll from lightning strikes, Mekong River floods and flash floods hitting parts of the country since early September have so far killed at least 20 people, he said.
