Learning institutions in Kisii County are now installing lightning arresters after two football players were struck dead over the weekend.
Sammy Musa, 20, and Joshua Nyangaresi, 21, lost their lives during a match between Manyansi FC and Nyagiti FC on Saturday.
They were playing in a field belonging to Manyansi DOK Primary school in Monyerero Ward, Kitutu Chache North Constituency. The pitch is also used by learners from nearby institutions.
However, no lightning arresters have been installed to ensure safety in an area that residents say is prone to natural calamity.
With the region currently experiencing moderate rainfall, which is often characterised by thunderstorms and lightning, calls have been made for the arresters to be installed in learning institutions and homes.
Mr Laban Nyakundi, an uncle of one of the dead players, has asked the government to ensure that arresters are put in all schools as a precaution.
“If you look at the institutions around us, there are no arresters on top of the buildings. Here in the Manyansi area, lightning is fond of striking. It has been striking trees and the other day it took the lives of young people. We now fear for the safety of our children going forward,” Mr Nyakundi lamented.
The field where the incident happened belongs to a primary school that has many children but there are no arresters on top of buildings.
This is not the first time such an incident is witnessed in Kisii.
In the 90s, a more serious tragedy occurred in Nyaribari Masaba after lightning killed 15 pupils in a school.
According to Mr Henry Sese, a meteorologist based in Kisii town, the Gusii region is prone to lightning because of its closeness to the Equator and Lake Victoria.
He revealed that areas near the Equator and large water bodies have cumulonimbus types of clouds.
These clouds extend high in the sky and they are associated with hail, thunder, and lightning. The bases of these clouds are flat, with a very dark wall-like feature hanging underneath. They only lie a few hundred feet above the earth’s surface.
He added that the kind of lightning usually witnessed here is characterised by strong upward and downward winds.
“Kisii is wedged on an escarpment between the moist, warm winds of Lake Victoria on the West and the cool high altitude winds that prevail every year-round from the East. Many people live on hills and the population is growing. This has made people build houses densely with tin roofs being popular,” he added.
There is no provision in the law that compels people to have arresters once they build a house, but he advises that Kenyans should consider having them in their homes as a precautionary measure.
“Not just anyone can put up lightning rods. He or she must be someone knowledgeable because they will be required to design it in such a way that when lightning strikes, it redirects its energy to the earth where it is absorbed,” said Mr Sese.
Mr Sese noted that lightning occurs when a positive charge builds up on the ground beneath the cloud and gets attracted to the negative charge at the bottom of the cloud.
Objects on the ground then become positively charged and this creates an imbalance that nature seeks to remedy by passing a current between the two charges.
Lightning arresters vary in cost depending on the type and make. In one of the shops within Kisii town, a brown two feet copper lightning arrester sells at Sh7,000. The shop attendant there said it was the most cost-effective option and is resistant to corrosion.
According to the Kenya Meteorological Department, other counties that are prone to lightning are Nyamira, Kericho, Bomet, Kisumu, Nandi, Bungoma (Mt Elgon area) and Kakamega.
To avoid being struck by lightning, people are urged to avoid taking shelter under a tree and they should stay away from other tall structures like flag poles.
One should also avoid open areas and high ground and avoid lying on the ground because that could increase chances of being struck by dangerous ground currents.
Humans should stay away from metal bleachers and fences because they are good conductors of electricity.
If possible, leaning on concrete walls should be avoided because some walls are lined with metal and lightning can travel through them.
Other precautionary measures are avoiding water puddles during a thunderstorm, not operating electronic equipment of any type since lightning can travel through electrical systems and radio and television reception systems.
Use of umbrellas is also discouraged and when you hear thunder, stay indoors. BY DAILY NATION