Officials at the National Committee for Disaster Management said yesterday that the death toll from lightning strikes had reached 100 people for the first nine months of 2013.

Keo Vy, chief of cabinet at the NCDM, said that in addition to the 100 people killed by lightning, 74 others were injured and 47 farm animals were killed.

The figures represent a very slight decrease in deaths over the same period last year, which saw 103 people killed. But there was an equally slight increase in injuries from last year, when only 71 people were hurt by lightning.

“The dangerousness of lightning seems to have decreased this month because the amount of rainfall is beginning to decrease,” Vy said.

Lightning deaths in Cambodia have been a perennial problem over the years. Though the government insists it takes pains to educate people on storm safety, hundreds have died or been injured after being struck while working in the fields.