A lightning strike that killed a 28-year-old man and sent a 22-year-old woman to hospital June 13 is a reminder of the dangers lurking in electrical storms.
The pair was repairing a barbed wire fence near Fir Mountain, Sask., when lightning struck.
Lightning is caused when static electricity builds up between storm clouds or between storm clouds and the ground. A single bolt can carry up to 100 million volts of electricity.
It normally strikes higher ground or the most prominent object in an area, especially metal objects that are good conductors.
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Livestock are particularly prone to strikes.
During an electrical storm, cows seeking shelter will often congregate near the perimeter of a pasture near a fence. If lightning strikes the fence, the electrical current can kill several animals.
An average of seven people are killed each year in Canada by lightning and 60 to 70 others are seriously injured, according to Environment Canada.
Environment Canada offers the following advice on avoiding injury during an electrical storm.
- To determine how close lightning is, count the time between the lightning flash and the sound of thunder. Each second represents a distance of roughly 300 metres. If the elapsed time is less than 30 seconds, take shelter indoors.
- Stay away from all tall objects such as trees, hilltops and telephone poles.
- Stay away from objects that conduct electricity such as tractors, fences, machinery, lawn mowers, or golf carts. Do not hold golf clubs, umbrellas, fishing rods or other objects that may act as conductors.
- If you remain inside a metal-bodied automobile, you should be safe from lightning strikes. Try to park the vehicle away from poles or hilltops.
- Seek out low-lying areas such as valleys, ditches or depressions, but beware of flooding.
- Stay away from water, even shallow puddles. If you are on a body of water, either swimming or in a boat, get to shore as quickly as possible.
- If you are in a treed area, seek out a low-lying area in the forest and crouch under the shortest trees or bushes.
- If you are caught in an open field, kneel on the ground immediately and bend forward with your feet together and hands on your knees. Do not lie flat on the ground.
- If you are part of a group caught in the open, spread out, keeping each person several yards apart.
