A 39-year-old woman was killed after she was struck by lightning while seeking shelter under a mango tree in Barangay San Isidro, San Luis, Pampanga.
Based on police reports, the woman and her child were on their way home when a rainstorm forced them to take cover under a mango tree. It was then that the lighting struck.
Residents told police that they heard a loud noise and saw the woman getting hit by lightning.
”Narinig nga daw po na may malakas na ingay, ‘yung ugong, at nakita na lamang na tinamaan na nga po siya ng kidlat. May kasama din po siya kaso siya lang po ang tinamaan ng kidlat,” PMaj. Jimmy Malonzo, Chief of San Luis Police Station.
The woman sustained burns on her left shoulder, reportedly.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) had issued a thunderstorm advisory for the area at the time of the incident.
Authorities remind the public to avoid seeking shelter under trees during thunderstorms to prevent similar tragic incidents.
PAGASA said lightning first strikes the nearest point to the cloud, often a tree. If a tree is struck, the electricity can pass through a nearby person because people conduct electricity better than trees, according to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. So, the current from a lightning strike might leave the tree and jump to a person, following their body to the ground.