November 21, 2019: Lightning in Goromonzi, Mashonaland East region of Zimbabwe has claimed lives of three school children.
The lightning struck the children of the three Early Childhood Development (ECD) from Rusike Primary School at the time of returning back from school.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe's Meteorological Services Department (MSD) has issued a flood warning for the country's southern provinces for Wednesday.
According to MSD, parts of Manicaland, Matabeleland South, Masvingo Provinces, as well as southern areas of Midlands Province, are forecast to receive heavier rains in excess of 50 mm in 24 hours.
According to the Meteorological Department, lightning strikes normally kill up to 100 people each year, mostly rural children.
Zimbabwe is even cited in the Guinness Book of World Records as the country where a single bolt of lightning claimed its largest number of victims. This occurred in a village near the eastern border town of Mutare in 1975 when 21 people were killed while sheltering in a hut.
Children seem to be more vulnerable to natural disasters in Zimbabwe. A research article published in Journal of Disaster Risk Studies has shown the flood disasters leading to children’s poor academic performance in Muzarabani District of Zimbabwe.