Highest death toll caused by lightning (direct strike)

The highest death toll resulting directly from the effects of the lightning itself was a lightning flash that killed 21 people in a hut in Manica Tribal Trust Lands in eastern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), on 23 December 1975. The mortality record was confirmed by the World Meteorological Organization in May 2017, when a committee of WMO experts presented the results of an in-depth investigation of documented mortality records for five specific weather-related events: tropical cyclones, tornadoes, direct and indirect lightning strike and hailstorms.

Nearly 90% of sub-Saharan buildings, especially homes, are not lightning-safe, leaving entire families, classrooms, and workers constantly vulnerable. In particular, schools and homes tend to be mud-brick with thatch or sheet metal roofs held down by rocks.