Be Careful!

[lordsux]

Ive always been one of those people that never really taken notice to all the warnings about going outside in thunderstorms, that changed today at about 0700 when not more than 300 meters from my home a Burmese immigrant was struck by lightning and immediately killed.

Ive heard that its like a million to one chance of being hit but after what happened today im not so sure anymore.

I was asked if I wanted to go see the poor guy that got hit, but from the general descriptions of his injuries I declined, apparently he was virtually split in half :/

Take care when the volts are hitting home.

[Jockstar]

Still got more chance getting hit by a bus though!

Saying that years ago my gran got hit when in the kitchen of her house, Luckily not enough to cause much damage. You should see her no when it thunders and lightning she hides under the bed.

[chownah]

Evidentally death by lightning is not uncommon in Thailand...happens mostly to people who are out in the fields when the storm comes...my wife is genuinely frightened for my life if I'm out when a storm comes through...I find it rather exciting but I go in now....one of those little compromises that help make a good marriage.

[lordsux]

Still got more chance getting hit by a bus though!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Not on this island (Koh Phayam) we dont even have cars.

I was out digging trenches (was having a bit of a flood) at the time it happened. I could feel the electricity in the air and im sure that if i had any hair left it would have been standing on end.

The storm cleared almost immediately after it had killed the Burmese guy, 15 minutes later the sun was shining from a cloudless blue sky.

Sure gave me something to think about over the morning coffee.

[Nordlys]

I can imagine lightening strike can cause severe burns but can it really split a person in half???

[jackr]

I can imagine lightening strike can cause severe burns but can it really split a person in half??? 

Shocking isn't it?

[bino]

I can imagine lightening strike can cause severe burns but can it really split a person in half??? 

I've never seen / known a person who has been struck, but I have seen many tall fir trees at home split in half from the tip right down to the ground.

Ive heard that its like a million to one chance of being hit but after what happened today im not so sure anymore.

Right- chances are astronomical. Just like winning the lottery. But- someone will win the lottery!

[lordsux]

The events of today sparked my interest, one answer I got to my questions was:

"How many volts and amps in a typical lightning flash?

A typical lightning bolt contains 1 billion volts and contains between 10,000 to 200,000 amperes of current."

Im not an electrician but I can work out that if you are getting that amount of current going through you body via your head you get more than a headache.

Seriously though, its always the same, "thai hmong" I think its called, where the Thais gather around the event/situation and then start to gossip and exaggerate the actual facts, usually lightning will leave only a small entry/exit mark but fries your insides in the process.

I will not go out in a storm again for sure.

[Ice Maiden]

Some lightning struck outside my home last night and hit a tree. I knew my dog was outside so I stupidly ran outside to get my dog inside. Hearing what you said lordsux I shouldn't really of gone outside.

[Neeranam]

Right- chances are astronomical. Just like winning the lottery. But- someone will win the lottery!

I remember seeing Norrie McSpurter on Record Breakers telling us about some guy who had been hit by lightning 7 times and was still alive.

Lucky, or what?

[bkkmadness]

I almost got struck a few months ago in Tak, it struck just a few metres away from what I could see (all too fast and it was to the side of me). Sh1t me pants.

[Davey]

A wood where near my last home had a tree completely taken out by what I presume was lightening, only the stump was left intact ...This tree was rather large too. Despite this I've never really been too concerned about lightening if at all, perhaps I should be though?

[bino]

Right- chances are astronomical. Just like winning the lottery. But- someone will win the lottery!

I remember seeing Norrie McSpurter on Record Breakers telling us about some guy who had been hit by lightning 7 times and was still alive.

Lucky, or what?

I remember this story too. From the http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/ website;

Most Lightning Strikes Survived

The only man to be struck by lightning seven times was park ranger Roy C Sullivan, the "human lightning conductor", of Virginia, USA. In his lightning encounters from 1942 to 1977, Roy had his hair set alight, lost his big toe nail and eyebrows, and suffered injuries to his arms, legs, chest, and stomach. In September 1983 he killed himself, reportedly rejected in love.

Imagine- topping yourself after surviving all that!

[Thaipwriter]

I spent a few days in Orlando, Florida on holiday an met a guy i saw on TV in England,( Electric Skies ITV 1994) he was a photographer who made his living selling photos of lightning. The area around Orlando is known as lightning alley due to the high amount of strikes it gets per year.

He was telling me that you dont actually get "hit" by lightning. In the moments before a strike, objects on the ground become strong negative charged and sometimes a visible plasma charge can be seen coming off objects reaching up to the sky, the clouds which are positive charge "choose" which plasma charge to take as their path to "earth". these plasma charges are called "stepped leaders" and are extremely rare to be even photographed but they happen millions of times every day aroung the world. in the quarter of a second before becoming "the path to earth" a human would be aware of this stepped leader and the best course of action is to hit the ground and curl up in a ball. he would for sure feel all the hairs of his neck stand up.

The safest place in the world to be during a storm is in a car ( due to Farraday's laws) the worse is said to be playing golf!

This guy who as killed would have been aware what was about to happen, all the hair's on his body would have reached for the sky. The fact that he was split in half should come as no surprise to anybody who was wondering if this is a true story or not!!!

[Thaipwriter]

The only man to be struck by lightning seven times was park ranger Roy C Sullivan, the "human lightning conductor", of Virginia, USA. In his lightning encounters from 1942 to 1977, Roy had his hair set alight, lost his big toe nail and eyebrows, and suffered injuries to his arms, legs, chest, and stomach. In September 1983 he killed himself, reportedly rejected in love.

Imagine- topping yourself after surviving all that!

This guy may have killed himself becuase his "sympathetic" nervous system had been "fried" this can lead to depression.... really sad

[chuchok]

I spent a few days in Orlando, Florida on holiday an met a guy i saw on TV in England,( Electric Skies ITV 1994)  he was a photographer who made his living selling photos of lightning. The area around Orlando is known as lightning alley due to the high amount of strikes it gets per year.

He was telling me that you dont actually get "hit" by lightning. In the moments before a strike, objects on the ground become strong negative charged and sometimes a visible plasma charge can be seen coming off objects reaching up to the sky, the clouds which are positive charge "choose" which plasma charge to take as their path to "earth". these plasma charges are called "stepped leaders" and are extremely rare to be even photographed but they happen millions of times every day aroung the world. in the quarter of a second before becoming "the path to earth" a human would be aware of this stepped leader and the best course of action is to hit the ground and curl up in a ball. he would for sure feel all the hairs of his neck stand up.

The safest place in the world to be during a storm is in a car ( due to Farraday's laws) the worse is said to be playing golf!

This guy who as killed would have been aware what was about to happen, all the hair's on his body would have reached for the sky. The fact that he was split in half should come as no surprise to anybody who was wondering if this is a true story or not!!!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Interesting, but a soccer player was killed in Singapore last year...overcast day and no warning at all.Six guys were knocked off their feet and the tallest guy, who got zapped ,died.

[Thaipwriter]

Interesting, but a soccer player was killed in Singapore last year...overcast day and no warning at all.Six guys were knocked off their feet and the tallest guy, who got zapped ,died.

the "tallest guy" is the telling point here, his stepped leader would be more attractive to the positive charge as it had less distance to "jump" to earth. hence hitting the ground and making and curling up!

[chuchok]

Interesting, but a soccer player was killed in Singapore last year...overcast day and no warning at all.Six guys were knocked off their feet and the tallest guy, who got zapped ,died.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

the "tallest guy" is the telling point here, his stepped leader would be more attractive to the positive charge as it had less distance to "jump" to earth. hence hitting the ground and making and curling up!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

There was no warning though.It was a cloudy day...thats it.Then the poor bugger got zapped.No hair standing up, no thunder, no rain.It shocked everybody...just a slightly overcast day.

[Thaipwriter]

Interesting, but a soccer player was killed in Singapore last year...overcast day and no warning at all.Six guys were knocked off their feet and the tallest guy, who got zapped ,died.

the "tallest guy" is the telling point here, his stepped leader would be more attractive to the positive charge as it had less distance to "jump" to earth. hence hitting the ground and making and curling up!

There was no warning though.It was a cloudy day...thats it.Then the poor bugger got zapped.No hair standing up, no thunder, no rain.It shocked everybody...just a slightly overcast day.

its a real bummer, makes you think about what is really important in life...... get out there and enjoy it, becuase shit like this happens maybe every couple of minutes somewhere in the world

[lordsux]

its a real bummer, makes you think about what is really important in life...... get out there and enjoy it, becuase shit like this happens maybe every couple of minutes somewhere in the world

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thats exactly what I was thinking while drinking my coffee this morning.

I like to live thinking that today was the best day of my life and tommorow is going to be even better.

What happened today reinforced my way of looking at life, you only get one so enjoy it to the limit.

[AmeriThai]

but they happen millions of times every day aroung the world. in the quarter of a second before becoming "the path to earth" a human would be aware of this stepped leader and the best course of action is to hit the ground and curl up in a ball. he would for sure feel all the hairs of his neck stand up.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Although a person may well feel the hair standing up, hitting the ground to curl up might not be so easy to do. Since it all happens within a quarter of a second, which is a blink of time, there might not always be enough time to react quickly enough. One would think by the time you feel the hair rise, it may be too late.

One of the worst conditions to be in is standing under trees in wet areas during a lightning storm. There have been instances where numerous people were shocked by the bolt as it spread across the ground in wet grass. I'm thinking of a soccor team that was blasted, presumably because the turf was wet.

[the scouser]

And this from 1999:-

Bras were conductor in British lightning deaths

LONDON, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Two women were killed by a bolt of lightning in London's Hyde Park when their underwired bras acted as conductors, a coroner said on Wednesday. "I think this was a tragic case, a pure act of God," coroner Paul Knapman told an inquest into the deaths. He recorded a verdict of death by misadventure. "This is only the second time in my experience of 50,000 deaths where lightning has struck the metal in a bra causing death, but I do not wish to over emphasise any significance," the coroner said. The two women, Anuban Bell, 24, and Sunee Whitworth, 39, had been sheltering under a tree in the park during a thunderstorm on September 22. Pathologist Dr Iain West said both women were wearing underwired bras and had been left with burn marks on their chests from the electrical current that passed through their bodies. Death would have been instant, he said. Both women were originally from Thailand but were living in London and had been on a shopping trip when the storm struck. The bodies were not discovered until the following day because passers-by thought they were vagrants.

Scouse.

[chang]

More old news Tuesday, 12 August, 2003

But highlights the dangers of hidding under trees.

Lightning strike kills cows

Sixteen cattle, including several in calf, have been killed in a lightning strike.The 15 cows and a bull died from heart attacks when the tree they were sheltering under on their farm on the outskirts of Wrexham was hit by the bolt.The shocking discovery was made by farmer Maldwyn Williams, 81, as he checked Trevor Hall Farm in Ruabon on Sunday."We haven't got over it yet. It was such a shock to see him," said his wife Eluned.

The pedigree Blonde d'Aquitaine cows cost thousands of pounds and Mrs Williams said the killed bull was priceless.They're like pets to us, we think a lot about the cattle

Eluned Williams"The bull was turning good stock out. It was really lovely," she said.

"They're like pets to us - we think a lot about the cattle."We are insured but you don't get the actual price back," she added.The remainder of the herd was saved from the freak accident as they were sheltering elsewhere.

The Blonde d'Aquitaine is a French cattle breed that has been established in the UK for over 25 years.Mr and Mrs Williams have farmed the land in Ruabon for more than 50 years.The couple said they are unsure about what they will do now as they are still trying to come to terms with the accident.

Edited September 3, 2005 by chang

[AmeriThai]

Soccer team downed by lightning

BBC News, October 26, 1998

Footballers struck by lightning

One minute the 22 players were running around the pitch - the next half of them were on their backs on the turf.

Just as the ball reached the outside of one of the penalty areas, in front of 2,000 fans, a bolt of lightning struck the ground.

The referee at the Premier Soccer League match in Johannesburg seemed badly shocked and blew his whistle incessantly.

Several players writhed on the grass holding their ears and their eyes. Spectators and coaching staff ran onto the pitch to help

One commentator interviewed a player lying on the ground, asking him: "It didn't hit you did it?"

The footballer responded: "It did just a little. I don't know if I'm OK."

Fortunately no-one was killed by the strike.

Accusations of cheating

Members of the team that were two goals down were accused of deliberately collapsing to get the match called off.

Our correspondent in South Africa, Jeremy Vine, says the claim is unfair.

"The combination of bright light and deafening noise was quite literally stunning," he said.

Both teams - Jomo Cosmos and the local team, Moroka Swallows - are now asking questions about why ambulances were not on stand-by during the match. Medical help took a while to arrive.

Several of them had to be carried off the field, and two were taken to hospital where they were treated for shock and irregular heart beats.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/201159.stm

There's a video link of the event here.

Edited September 4, 2005 by AmeriThai

[julie_f]

Last year I think we were watching from our condo (26th floor) dureing a thunder storm and a bolt hit the playing field opposite us. All the kids fell to the ground immediatley but they were all ok, got up again straight away.

[jackr]

Only 30% of lightning strikes hit the ground

[cobra]

Also not a good idea to use the phone (hard line) during lightning storms.

True story, years ago a friend told me he got his first heart attack while being shocked using the phone during a lightning storm,

Got shocked again for heart attack number two while attempting to call for help ...

[chownah]

...................

The safest place in the world to be during a storm is in a car ( due to Farraday's laws) the worse is said to be playing golf!

..............................

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Golf joke: Two guys were out golfing when a lightning storm came through.

Golfer #1: Let's run for the clubhouse!

Golfer #2: Don't worry!

and then Golfer #2 took a 2 iron out of his bag and held it straight up in the air over his head.

Golfer #1: What are you doing?...are you crazy?!!!!!

Golfer #2: Don't worry, even God can't hit a 2 iron!

[jackr]

100 lightning bolts hit the ground every second around the world

True about the phone and don't have a shower either, outside or in.

[lordsux]

Is it ok to fly your kite?