Some 2,800 people were killed in lightning strikes in open fields and haors across the country from 2011 to 2021, said State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Dr Enamur Rahman.
Of them, 179 people were killed in 2011, 201 in 2012, 185 in 2013, 170 in 2014, 226 in 2015, 391 in 2016, 307 in 2017, 359 in 2018, 198 in 2019, 255 in 2020 and 329 in 2021, he said.
The government has planned to establish shelter centres in lightning-prone areas of the country, said Enamur while speaking at a press briefing at the secretariat ahead of International Day of Disaster Risks Reduction.
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“The government has decided to build a concrete house on one decimal of land with one lightning arrester in each house so that people can take shelter there within 20-25 minutes after hearing the warning of lightning,” he said.
People will stay there until the lightning strikes, Enamur added.
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