PHNOM PENH, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Lightning strikes killed 45 people in Cambodia in 2025, down 33.8 percent from 68 deaths in the year before, a disaster control spokesperson said on Friday.
Besides the fatalities, thunderbolts injured 58 other people and killed 71 heads of cattle in 2025, said Soth Kim Kolmony, the spokesperson for the National Committee for Disaster Management.
He attributed the decline to people's awareness of protecting themselves from lightning incidents.
"To prevent dangers from lightning strikes, people, especially those living in rural areas, should stay in houses or shelters when there is a storm or rain," Kolmony told Xinhua.
Lightning strikes often happen during the rainy season from May to October in the Southeast Asian country.
In addition to the casualties from lightning strikes, fires killed 35 people, and storms claimed 14 lives in the country in 2025, according to the spokesperson. ■
