Another lightning strike kills goats

Barely a week after a small-stock farmer lost 71 goats to lightning in Okakarara Constituency another 20 goats and a herding dog were killed by lightning in the Otjinene Constituency. 

The incident happened at Okazapamba village during the wee hours of Wednesday 12 November. According to Kasukoo Kamurongo, a farmer, “We heard a heavy thunder clap and lightning seemed to fill our house. The next morning we found the 20 goats dead in the kraal with their herding dog. All the dead goats had burn marks on their stomachs. The surviving dog and a ram showed heavily swollen limbs.” The owner of the goats, Unomasa Kamutanda Mbaisa was not in the village during the incident, but said that he is so heartbroken to lose everything. “I'm only left with about eight goats, three goats with four lambs and the one ram.” 

Objects struck by lightning experience heat and magnetic forces of great magnitude. The heat created by lightning currents travelling through a tree may vaporise its sap, causing an explosion that bursts the trunk. 

Humans or animals struck by lightning may suffer severe injury due to internal organ and nervous system damage. As lightning mostly seeks the highest structure that can relay the electric charge to the ground it is very important to keep livestock away from trees during a thunder storm.

source: http://www.informante.web.na