By Hou Akot Hou
Two people have been killed following a thunderstorm in Kanajak, Aweil East County, after lightning struck a residential tukul on Tuesday evening.
A relative of one of the victims, Deng Mawien, said the incident shocked the community, noting that seven people were sheltering in the house when the lightning struck.
“What happened is that 7 people were living in the house together when the lightning struck the house and killed the two individuals on the spot,” he said.
He identified the deceased as 30-year-old Achol Deng Bak and a 12-year-old girl, Achol Dau.
“The lightning brought out 5 people, including my own daughter, and the two individuals passed away immediately,” Mawien added.
In a related incident, on the same evening, more than 20 goats were reportedly killed after another lightning strike hit a livestock enclosure in Pagai Agurpiny in Madhol Payam of the same state. Eyewitnesses said the animals belonged to residents, but no human casualties were reported.
Lightning remains a recurring natural hazard in parts of South Sudan, especially during the rainy season, often causing deaths, injuries, and livestock losses.
Experts explain that lightning is caused by an electrical imbalance within storm clouds, where collisions between ice crystals and water droplets separate positive and negative charges.
When the imbalance becomes too strong, it is discharged as a lightning strike.
Safety experts advise people to immediately seek shelter in enclosed buildings or hard-top vehicles during thunderstorms, avoid open areas, tall trees, water bodies, and metal objects, and wait at least 30 minutes after the last thunder before going out.