Northern Uganda: Lightning Kills 14 People During Sunday Prayer Service, 34 Injured!

By Frank Kamuntu 

On 02 November 2024, In Lamwo district there was an incident where Lightning struck 14 people to death and left 34 others injured.

The incident happened during a prayer service at a church in Zone 8, Block 2. in Palabek settlement camp.

The victims, yet to be identified, had gathered for prayers when the rain started around 5:00 PM, and the lightning thunder struck at 5:30 PM.

Victims were evacuated to Paluda health center III.

Lightning is a fascinating natural phenomenon. Here’s how it happens:

1. Formation in Storm Clouds: Lightning begins as static charges within a rain cloud. Turbulent winds inside the cloud lift water droplets to great heights, where the colder atmosphere freezes them into ice particles.
2. Charge Separation: Meanwhile, downdrafts push ice and hail down from the top of the cloud. When the ice particles going down meet the water droplets coming up, electrons are stripped off. This process results in a cloud with a negatively charged bottom and a positively charged top.
3. Electrical Fields: These electrical fields become incredibly strong, with the atmosphere acting as an insulator between them in the cloud. When the strength of the charge overpowers the insulating properties of the atmosphere, Z-Z-Z-ZAP! Lightning occurs.
4. Path to Ground: As the storm moves over the ground, the strong negative charge in the cloud attracts positive charges in the ground. A “stepped leader” of negative charge descends from the cloud, seeking a path toward the ground. When it gets close, a positive charge (called a streamer) reaches up to meet it, resulting in the visible lightning stroke.
5. Thunder: In a fraction of a second, lightning heats the air around it to incredible temperatures—as hot as 54,000 °F (30,000 °C). The rapid expansion of heated air creates shockwaves, which we perceive as thunder.