Know How to Avoid Lightning

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 26 Jun 2005 - 0:00 PDT

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Public education efforts on avoiding lightning strike injuries may be paying off in the form of a 40 percent decrease from predicted fatalities and injuries, according to Dr. Mary Ann Cooper, director of the lightning injury research program and professor in the department of emergency medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

But lightning still kills an average of 67 people a year in the United States and leaves 600 to 700 survivors with debilitating health effects, Cooper says. "While about 90 percent of those struck by lightning survive, they frequently have permanent after-effects such as chronic pain, brain injury and thought-processing problems."

July is the peak of lightning season in the United States, according to Cooper. She points out, though, that lightning can strike at any time of year in any part of the country.

Lightning kills more people annually than tornadoes or hurricanes but injuries and deaths can be avoided. The problem is that most people seriously underestimate the risk of being struck and do not know when or where to take shelter, Cooper says.

That is where education comes in. Past campaigns in partnership with professional golf, baseball, Little League and soccer have succeeded in teaching coaches and parents to suspend games when there is a threat of lightning and reminding golfers to take shelter.

"The rule is, 'If thunder roars, go indoors,'" Cooper says. She explains that lightning can travel up to 10 miles from a thundercloud, striking even when the sky is clear. "If you can hear the thunder from a storm, chances are you're within striking distance," she says. "And wait 30 minutes or more after hearing the last thunder and seeing the last lightning to leave shelter or resume outdoor activities."

Cooper, who is a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society, is considered the leading international expert on lightning strike injuries. She works closely with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service in its annual education program.

Cooper and NOAA also emphasize the importance of seeking proper shelter when thunderstorms threaten. A gazebo is not safe, but a hard-topped metal vehicle is. Buildings must be fully enclosed and substantially constructed with wiring and plumbing in the walls.

Indoors, Cooper advises, stay away from windows and doors and avoid contact with plumbing, corded phones and anything plugged into electricity.

Additional information about lightning safety is available at http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov.

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