A lecturer at the School of Nuclear and Allied Sciences of the University of Ghana, Dr. Joseph Amoako, has indicated that it is not unnatural for persons to be struck by lightning during a thunderstorm.
He explained that lightning requires a conductor of heat as a medium and since humans are good conductors of heat, they are likely to be struck if unprotected during a storm.
“The storm produces electrical charges, when the atmosphere heats up, it leads to the louder thunder and lightning. Lightning can strike a person as far as 32 kilometers, it needs a conductor of heat in order to shock you in order to kill youâ€.
He made the comment to shed light on the death of 17-year-old Emmanuel Doli, a student of the Sokode Senior High School, who was struck by lightning.
Emmanuel was selling coconut by the roadside when he met his untimely death.
People who chanced upon the incident attributed his death to a spiritual cause.
“These things are spiritual and it happens only when someone is behind it and the victim might have had issues with someone who decided to go the spiritual way,†an eyewitness said.
But Dr. Joseph Amoako says there is nothing spiritual about the incident.
According to Dr Amoako, there are over 40,000 thunderstorms recorded daily and persons found within 32 kilometers of a storm could be struck by lightning.
He therefore urged Ghanaians to stay indoors during thunderstorms as conductors of heat are likely to be struck by lightning.
“Metal umbrellas should be avoided or used properly, and it is advisable to lie flat on the floor when one is under a tree and a rainstorm hits,†he added.
Since it was believed that Emmanuel Doli died of spiritual causes his remains were left untouched until his family consulted the gods of Nogokpo.
Nogokpo gods in the Volta Region are regarded as Ghana’s most powerful deity, per reports.
It is said that Nogokpo is a just deity who punishes only wrongdoers.
Source:Â The Independent Ghana