HoehmTown Happenings: Summer Safety Alert: Lightning Strikes

The 1 in 15,300 odds of being struck by lightning may sound incredibly small, but they are far more likely than many of the extraordinary events people dream about every day. In fact, your chances of being hit by lightning in your lifetime are significantly greater than winning a major lottery jackpot or becoming a professional athlete. Still, many of us fail to take precautions beyond the common sense approach of not walking around outside during a thunderstorm. 

National Lightning Safety Awareness Week runs from June 21-27 this year, which means it’s a good time to look at some facts and myths about lightning. Since this awareness campaign began in 2001, the number of fatalities caused by lightning strikes has dropped significantly,  going from an average of 55 down to an average of less than 30, and while roughly 90% of the victims actually survive, many victims suffer severe and lifelong injuries. 

“‘When thunder roars, go indoors” is a saying we all need to embrace. If you can hear thunder, you are in danger of being struck by lightning. If you see lightning and hear thunder before you can count to 30, your risk of being struck is further elevated. Under these circumstances, your safest move is to get indoors and wait 30 minutes past the last sound of thunder before returning outside. 

Most of us know and follow the basic premise of moving indoors during a storm, but far fewer think about the dangers that still exist once you are “safely” inside. It’s important to know that about one-third of all lightning strike injuries actually occur indoors. In the U.S., where hundreds of people are struck annually, this equates to roughly 100 to 150 indoor lightning injuries per year. Fatalities from indoor strikes are extremely rare, but do happen. With indoor safety in mind, here are some best practices provided by the National Weather Service:

• Stay off corded phones, computers and other electrical equipment that put you in direct contact with electricity
• Avoid plumbing, including sinks, baths and faucets
• Stay away from windows and doors, and stay off porches
• Do not lie on concrete floors, and do not lean against concrete walls
• Do not shower, bathe, wash your hands or dishes, or do laundry

And finally, if you are caught outside with no safe shelter anywhere nearby, the following actions may reduce your risk:

• Immediately get off elevated areas such as hills, mountain ridges or peaks.
• Never lie flat on the ground, crouching in a low lying area is a better bet.
• Never shelter under an isolated tree.
• Never use a cliff or rocky overhang for shelter.
• Immediately get out and away from ponds, lakes and other bodies of water.
• Stay away from objects that conduct electricity (barbed wire fences, power lines, windmills, etc.)

As we move into the heart of summer, remember that your chances of being struck by lightning during a storm in your lifetime may be low, but they’re not zero. Take this risk seriously and remember these precautions every time you see a flash of lightning or hear a boom of thunder.