Sheriff's Office Warns of Lightning Threat

With the threat of severe weather threatening our area today, the reminds citizens that there is little you can do to reduce the risk of being struck by lightning if you are outside during a thunderstorm. The only completely safe action you can take is to move inside a safe building or vehicle.

A safe building is one that is fully enclosed with a roof, walls and floor and has plumbing or wiring. Examples of safe buildings include a home, school, church, hotel, office building or shopping center. If lightning should directly strike a building with electricity and/or plumbing, the dangerous electrical current from the flash will typically travel through the wiring and/or plumbing, then into the ground. This is why you should stay away from showers, sinks, hot tubs, and electronic equipment such as TVs, radios, corded telephones and computers.

Unsafe buildings include carports, open garages, covered patios, picnic shelters, beach pavilions, golf shelters, tents of any kind, baseball dugouts, sheds and greenhouses.

A safe vehicle is any fully enclosed, metal-topped vehicle such as a hard-topped car, minivan, bus, truck, etc. If you drive into a thunderstorm, slow down and use extra caution. If possible, pull off the road into a safe area. Do NOT leave the vehicle during a thunderstorm.

Unsafe vehicles include convertibles, golf carts, riding mowers, open-cab construction equipment and boats without cabins.

Lightning Risk Reduction Outdoors

Most important, stay away from high points or anything that will act as a conductor. Tall or isolated trees, water, telephone poles or metal structures can all attract lightning strikes. Avoid open areas, where you serve as the tallest object around. Your best bet if you are unable to take shelter indoors is to find a depression or other low point where you can crouch in “lightning position.” Lightning position involves crouching with your feet planted squarely on the ground, with your head lower than your shoulders. If you have a sleeping pad or other insulator to place under your feet, it can help protect you from ground current. Do not stand underneath an exposed rock ledge or in the entrance of a cave. If the earth above you is struck, the electricity could arc through you in order to reach the ground. If you’re traveling in a group when a thunderstorm hits, spread out as you take cover. Thirty to 50 feet between group members should ensure that someone will be available to administer CPR and first aid in the event of a strike.

Providing First Aid After a Lightning Strike

In the event of a strike, it’s important to be prepared for significant injuries of almost any type. If you see someone struck by lightning, it’s absolutely imperative to check the heartbeat and breathing immediately. CPR has a phenomenal success rate among lightning victims. In cases of lighting injury, CPR can have success rates of up to 90 percent. As such, normal rules of triage do not apply. If you find someone without a pulse or respiration after a lightning strike, begin CPR immediately.

Lightning can be deadly and should be taken seriously. Having to take shelter from a storm during an outdoor activity can seem like an inconvenience; however, it is the difference between life and death. A good rule of thumb is to stay indoors until 30 minutes have passed after the last clasp of thunder or flash of lightning observed. Don’t be afraid to be the person who speaks up. The life you save may be your own!

Cpl. Brandon Gurley is the public information officer/Neighborhood Watch liaison for the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office.