by Ananda KANNANGARA
Colombo University Senior Lecturer, Dr. Chandana Jayaratne warned the public to desist from using inferior mobile phones during thundershowers and lightning since there is a possibility of the phone battery exploding and causing serious injuries to the user as well as those nearby.
Mobile phone users should switch off their phones even during heavy showers and lightning as it could cause injuries to the user. Dr. Jayaratne told the Sunday Observer that not only people but also animals such as cattle, goats and elephants should be protected during lightning.
He said that cattle and elephants should be kept in safe places instead of tying them to trees as lightning strikes the top and goes to the root of the tree.
Children should refrain from playing in open areas during thundershowers and farmers in paddy fields, he said.
Dr. Jayaratne said 85 percent of the deaths due to lightning had occurred, in open places and most of the victims had been farmers engaged in agricultural work.
According to the Meteorological Department, lightning becomes active from March-May and October-November. Kalutara and Ratnapura districts were the worst affected areas. Two young boys of Anguruwatota in Kalutara and Akmeemana in Galle were struck by lightning in the evening last week. One boy died, while the other sustained minor injuries.
http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2011/09/18/new12.asp
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