Apart from Chin State, there were casualties in other states and regions. Deaths from lightning strikes were highest in Ayeyarwady Region with 14, while Bago Region had eight deaths, Tanintharyi Region had seven, Magwe Region had six and Yangon Region had five.
There were also fatalities and injuries from strong winds. According to the department's figures for March to May 26, 19 people were killed and 30 people injured by strong winds, which also destroyed more than 13,000 houses and about 160 religious buildings.
"In the past few years, cumulonimbus clouds have been forming in a wider area, even in Ayeyarwady, Bago and Yangon. This year, there has been more lightning and hailstorms from these clouds and we have had more reports of people being hit by lightning," U Kyaw Moe Oo, deputy director general of the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology, said Wednesday.
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