In 2008 there were 329 people struck in the USA, with 302 injured and 27 killed; 74 (7 killed) were under trees, 29 in yards, 16 (3) on the beach, 12 (2) in the water and 10 (1) camping in or near tents.
27 Fatalities: All were outside, 22 males & 5 females. One child (6 years old), 7 teens and 19 adults.
302 Injuries: There were 176 adults, 62 teens and 15 children injured, 201 males and 60 females. 184 were outside and 13 were inside. The busiest day was Wednesday, July 23 with 7 incidents injuring 10 people. There were 14 injuries on both July 27 and October 31. The breakdown by day is Sunday 66, Saturday 47, Tuesday 46, Thursday 41, Wednesday 38, Friday 36 , & Monday with 27. (StruckbyLightning.org)
Each year, thousands of homes and other properties are damaged or destroyed by lightning. Lightning is responsible for more deaths and property loss than tornadoes, hurricanes and floods combined. Lightning is one disaster that we can economically afford to protect ourselves against. If struck by lightning, a building will generally sustain more damage when there’s no lightning protection system present. (read more...)
