Strike zone

Waking up to the rising threat of lightning

Jewel Fraser

When the Barbados National Archives, home to one of the world’s most significant collections of documents from the transatlantic slave trade, reported in June that it had been struck by lightning, it received sympathy and offers of support locally and internationally. A section of the 60-year-old building, Block D, located on the grounds of the “Lazaretto” (a former colony for people with leprosy), caught fire, and sustained serious damage. Official documents including hospital and school records were lost. “It was not just paper that was in the building, but documents that have stories about our families and ancestors,” said the chief archivist, Ingrid Thompson. Although the slave trade archives were unharmed, the incident has intensified concerns about rising lightning activity in the region and its impact on infrastructure and cultural…

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Guardian Weekly (Digital) - 1 Issue, 29 November 2024

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