By Lilian Owusu-Mensah
Following the death of a young Coconut Seller in the Volta Region who was believed to have been struck by lightning, Dr. Joseph Amoako from the School of Nuclear and Allied Sciences of the University of Ghana has advised the public on what to do in times of thunderstorm.
Speaking to Kafui Dey on GTV Breakfast Show, Thursday, 2nd June 2022, Dr Amoako said lightning is a natural occurrence which takes place every day with over 40000 thunderstorms recorded daily across the globe.
“From my perspective these are natural phenomena that occur. There are over 40 000 thunderstorms daily which works out to over 40 000 000 storms annually worldwide”, he stated.
Dr. Amoako added that lightning and thunder have an electrical component which is responsible for causing electrocution.
“Lightning and thunder are an electrical phenomenon that occurs naturally because nature has electrical characteristics, nature has its own magnetic fields and electrical properties. It is the electrical side that produces so much electricity to the point that one can be electrocuted. It’s just like stepping on a VRA high tension cable and being electrocuted and dying instantly”, he explained.
He advised that homes should be well wired in order to avoid unforeseen incidents in cases where there is a thunderstorm.
“Every house, every property needs to have very good wiring, the earthing should be well done, use good conductors for earthing, high rise buildings must have copper plates (lightning conductors) to be able to arrest the charges and ground it to the earth instead of it striking the whole building. It can cause fires”, he added.
Below is the video;
