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Rates of lightning mortality in communities on the western shore of Lake Malawi are higher than any other reported rate in the world: 419 strike victims per million people per annum and 84 deaths per million per annum. To document the background to this phenomenon, we conducted comprehensive household interviews with surviving victims and witnesses of every case of lightning strike in seven administrative areas around Nkhata Bay, Malawi. We find that the consequential lightning strikes are significantly more common in the rainy season and during the morning. Among those victims struck by lightning, there is an average ratio of approximately one death to four injuries, which is substantially higher than the commonly accepted ratio of 1:10. Children and adults are at equal risk of being struck. If struck, the probability of death is greater when the victim is outside in the open or outside under cover than indoors under a tin or thatched roof, but is unaffected by different kinds of footwear or whether it is raining. Reported explanations for strikes often center on witchcraft or other forms of social conflict. Our findings extend the study of consequential lightning strikes in the developing world and highlight cultural factors associated with this hazard. We end with recommendations for reducing the risk of lightning for rural populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Livingstone's second mission site on the shore of Lake Malawi suffers very high rates of consequential lightning strikes. Comprehensive interviewing of victims and their relatives in seven Traditional Authorities in Nkhata Bay District, Malawi revealed that the annual rate of consequential strikes was 419/million, more than six times higher than that in other developing countries; the rate of deaths from lightning was 84/million/year, 5.4 times greater than the highest ever recorded. These remarkable figures reveal that lightning constitutes a significant stochastic source of mortality with potential life history consequences, but it should not deflect attention away from the more prominent causes of mortality in this rural area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]