In the first four months of 2015, severe storms killed 15 people and injured 47 others, while 2,000 houses were damaged or destroyed, authorities said yesterday.

Keo Vy, of the National Committee for Natural Disaster Management, confirmed that lightning had killed 10, injured eight, killed nine animals and destroyed two homes. Heavy rains and wind caused five deaths and injured 39. One school and 458 houses were destroyed, and the walls and roofs of 10 school buildings were ruined. Almost 2,000 houses were damaged.

While storm damage spanned 20 provinces, “Banteay Meanchey, Kampong Cham, Siem Reap, and Preah Sihanouk provinces suffered the most critically,” Vy explained.

Meanwhile, Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology spokesman Chan Yutha said that a 3 degree C drop in temperatures this week will decrease the power of storms, but increase the force of thunder and lightning.

Yutha appealed for people to exercise extreme caution by staying indoors during storms and avoiding objects that might channel an electric current.