Lightning Strikes Kill 36 Across Cambodia in Early 2025

Apsara Aut.

PHNOM PENH – Thirty-six people have been killed and dozens more injured in a deadly wave of lightning strikes and storms that battered Cambodia during the first half of 2025, officials said this week.

According to the National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM), 31 of the deaths were caused by lightning, including three children, while another five people died in storms. A further 80 people were injured in weather-related incidents between January and June.

The NCDM said thunderstorms have damaged over 5,500 homes and destroyed nearly 400 more. Schools, pagodas, business stalls, and public offices were also hit, with dozens suffering roof or structural damage.

“Among the dead so far this year were 11 women and three children,” said NCDM spokesperson Soth Kim Kolmony, adding that 71 buffaloes were also killed by lightning during the same period.

The death toll from lightning strikes marks a 31 percent decrease compared to the same period in 2024, when 45 people were killed. Still, the scale of destruction remains sobering.

Siem Reap, Battambang, Banteay Meanchey, and Preah Sihanouk provinces were among the hardest hit by lightning activity.

Officials have blamed an early and intense rainy season, driven by strong southwest monsoon winds. While the rains have created favourable conditions for planting, they have also led to flash floods and riverbank collapses in several provinces and parts of Phnom Penh.

At least 18 cases of riverbank erosion were recorded in provinces including Battambang, Kampong Thom, and Prey Veng.

Kolmony urged rural communities to seek shelter during storms and avoid open fields or trees when lightning is present.

In addition to lightning and storm casualties, fires claimed 22 lives in the same six-month period.

With Cambodia’s monsoon season far from over, officials are warning of further severe weather and encouraging extra vigilance in vulnerable areas.

-2025-07-10