Heavy storms wrecked havoc across South Africa over the weekend, killing eight people, authorities said on Monday.
The victims include a family of three who were killed when lightning struck their home in Piet Retief, Mpumalanga Province, according to provincial police spokesman Col. Leonard Hlathi.
This brought to 13 the number of people killed by lightning in one month in the country.
Also in Mpumalanga, an eight-year-old boy died after being swept away by flood, while a 67-year-old woman was also killed after her mud-constructed house fell on top of her.
In Limpopo Province, three children - two boys and a girl - were killed in separate incidents when their homes collapsed during heavy rains, provincial officials said.
Thunderstorms are common in South Africa's eastern provinces between October and March.
Weather-related incidents are getting more severe and their frequency suggests that extreme and abnormal weather conditions caused by climate change have a lot to do with these incidents, climatologists say.