Prattayan Sarkar, an O-level student from Maple Leaf International School was busy with his computer at his Dhanmondi house while a thunderstorm swept the city Thursday night. After a deafening sound of lightning hitting a nearby spot, Sarkar found his computer go numb. He desperately tried to restore the power and fumbled with the cables only to get stunned with a jolt of electricity. After Sarkar's father took him to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital, the doctors declared him dead.

Like Prattayan, people lose their lives while properties are damaged due to the absence of preventive measures against thunderbolts. Majority of these incidents go unnoticed and disregarded while public awareness on this issue remains a little.

According to experts, more than a hundred people die from electrocution during thunderstorms every year in Bangladesh. Many of these incidents occur in the city.

"Although thunderbolt causes damage to both lives and properties, it remains one of the most underrated issues," said Professor Abdul Mannan Chowdhury of the Department of Physics, Jahangirnagar University.

"We should know why lightning occurs and what the preventive measures are," he added.

Pedestrians commuting in the open during thunderstorms are more vulnerable to thunderbolts than anyone else, said Dr Chowdhury.

"A thunderbolt carries an amount of around 250 kilo ampere electricity and can kill any living being upon impact, therefore commuters should be extra cautious during thunderstorms. They should stay away from high-rise buildings and especially trees as they tend to channel the electricity from the thunderbolts," said Dr Chwodhury.

"Also people should not use cellular phones during thunderstorms as the phone's radioactive frequency may attract lighting," he added.

According to Dr Sekandar Dara Shamshuddin, professor of the Department of Geography and Environment of Jahangirnagar University, the best solution to thwart the perils of such thunderbolts would be to take adequate preventive measures.

"May to July is the most lightning-prone period, followed by April. Therefore this is the time of the year when people should be extra cautious," he said.

Dr Shamsuddin explains that there are two different kinds of preventive measures that can be taken to ensure safety against thunderbolt related accidents. The external measures include installing fully-fledged earthing facilities in the building, which would include a metallic feeler on the rooftops connected with a wire that would go at least 60 feet beyond the ground level.

"The earthing equipment would channel the static electricity safely to the bottom of the ground, ensuring safety to the building," said Dr Shamsuddin.

"This measure would not only guarantee protection from thunderbolts, they would reduce odds of other electrical hazards as well," said Dr Shamsuddin.

The other measures include taking last minute precautions like switching off electrical equipment and unplugging other peripherals to avoid any electrical hazards.

"If the bolt strikes any kind of wire such as electricity, cable TV or even telephone cables, the impact would traumatise any equipment connected to it. This collision may not only damage the equipment, it may electrocute anyone in contact with it," he added.

According to electrical engineers, the Building Code 1993 instructs to have earthing facilities in each house. Based on the layout of the place, multiple feeder or antennas would be required to draw the electricity and ensure safety.

"An antenna tends to cover a specific range of area based on its weight. An average antenna would cover around a radius of 10 square meters of space," said Syed Eskandar, an electrical engineer.

"The cost of the antenna depends on its weight and each pound usually costs around Tk 70 to 80. And the total cost for the whole earthing system would depend on the height of the building," said Eskandar.