A dashcam captured the moment lightning struck a woman riding a motorbike in Vinh City, Nghe An Province, Vietnam. The 47-year-old woman sustained injuries to her head and hands in the incident but reportedly survived.
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Sharp Rise in Lightning Damage in Vietnam, One of the World’s Three Major Lightning Hotspots
The recent accident in Nghe An Province, Vietnam, serves as an example of the country’s status as a global hotspot for lightning activity. Vietnam is considered one of the world’s three major lightning-prone zones, with approximately two million lightning strikes occurring annually. The number of fatalities caused by lightning has been on the rise—recording 16 deaths in 2017, 25 in 2018, 26 in 2019, 32 in 2020, 32 in 2021, and 44 in the first half of 2022 alone—with mortality rates varying by region. While the national average stands at 0.9 deaths per million people, reports indicate the figure reaches as high as 8.8 in the southern province of Bac Lieu.
Underlying these casualties is the fact that there are over 77 million registered motorcycles in Vietnam; with an ownership rate of 770 bikes per 1,000 people, they account for 85–90% of road traffic. Due to inadequate road infrastructure and public transportation systems, it is difficult to avoid using motorcycles during rainy weather, a factor believed to heighten the risk of accidents like the one that recently occurred.
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