FACTS

1. Lightning has the ability to send electricity through the metal pipes used for plumbing, electrical wires such as the telephone, and metal reinforcements to concrete floors and walls.
2. Lightning can occur during any time of the year, but lightning casualties are highest during summer. July is generally the month with the most lightning. Lightning strikes often occur in the afternoon. In fact, two-thirds of all lightning casualties occur between noon and 6pm.
3. Lightning most often strikes people who work outside or engage in outdoor recreational activities. More than a third of lightning strike deaths occur on farms. Other common places are industrial locations and private residences.
4. Construction and material handling such as loading and unloading are two of the most common work-related activities where lightning strikes occur.
5. The majority of work-related lightning strikes occur in Florida and Texas, two states where seasonal lightning deaths and injuries are high.
6. Lightning is a major cause of storm related deaths in the U.S.A lightning strike can result in a cardiac arrest (heart stopping) at the time of the injury, although some victims may appear to have a delayed death a few days later if they are resuscitated but have suffered irreversible brain damage.

STATS

• From 2006 to July 2016 there were 326 lightning-related fatalities. 257 of the victims were male and 59 were female.
• A lightning strike can result in a cardiac arrest (heart stopping) at the time of the injury, although some victims may appear to have a delayed death a few days later if they are resuscitated but have suffered irreversible brain damage.
• According to the NWS Storm Data, over the 2018 in the U.S. has averaged 43 reported lightning fatalities per year. Only about 10% of people who are struck by lightning are killed, leaving 90% with various degrees of disability. More recently, in the last 10 years (2009-2018), the U.S. has averaged 27 lightning fatalities.
• Males are five times more likely than females to be struck by lightning; around 85% of lightning fatalities are men.
• People aged 15–34 years account for almost half of all lightning strike victims (41%). The majority (89%) of lightning deaths occur among whites.
• About one-third (32%) of lightning injuries occur indoors.
• Lightning kills an average 49 people each year in the United Sates and hundreds more are injured.