KUNMING, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- Lightning strikes have claimed 34 lives in southwest China's Yunnan Province this year, after three more people died in the provincial capital of Kunming in the past three days, local authorities said Wednesday.

Yunnan has reported 427 lightning strike accidents so far this year. Apart from the deaths, 27 people have been injured, said a spokesman with the provincial meteorological bureau.

Experts blame some of the casualties on inept reactions to lightning.

In the latest three fatalities, the victims were hit when they ran from open fields to take refuge under trees, which made them easy targets for thunderbolts, the spokesman said.

Experts reminded citizens that, when thunder hits, they should take refuge in low rise buildings, cut off the power supply and avoid touching anything metallic like water taps.

In addition to casualties, lightning strikes have also resulted in economic losses of up to 10 million yuan (1.25 million U.S. dollars) in Kunming this year, he said.

Yunnan is prone to thunderstorms and frequently struck by lightning.

Lightning hits Kunming more than 60 days each year and the figure for the Dai Autonomous Prefecture of Xishuangbanna is a staggering 100 days per year.

Nationwide, lightning strikes killed 263 people and injured 216others during the first half of 2006, causing economic losses of 130 million yuan (16.25 million U.S. dollars), according to the China Meteorological Administration.

In 2005, over a quarter of the 2,475 victims killed by natural disasters died from lightning strikes.