Four more people have died due to lightning strikes just this week.
The four casualties were reported from separate incidents in Palawan, Rizal, and Biliran said the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on said Wednesday (June 27).
The two fatalities from Palawan were identified as Toto Ranis and Jomar Dilao, both from San Nicolas village in Linapacan town. Their bodies sustained third-degree burns.
Investigations showed both bodies were found floating behind a half-submerged motorized boat in the early morning off Gintongan Island in Bulalacao, Coron. Turned over to the victims’ families were P42,587 cash, a plastic bag with bread, and four mobile phones, all found in the boat.
In other provinces, a lightning hit and killed farmer Allan Casas, 48, early in the morning of June 25 (Monday) in Barangay Antipolo in Naval town, Biliran.
In Rizal province, one of at least six people injured by a lightning strike in San Mateo town last Monday succumbed to his injuries the next day.
The NDRRMC identified the casualty as Jayson Cristobal, 15. He was the second fatality in the San Mateo incident following Jepoy Carriaga, 18, late on Monday.
Just last month, a fisherman died after he was allegedly struck by lightning while fishing in Naga city. The recent cases of deaths compelled the NDRRMC to warn the public of lightning strikes.
NDRRMC situations, which are at risk of lightning strikes: bancas w/antenna, structures in flat lands, and people riding carabaos.
