National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2010. Journal of Environmental Health, 2005, pp. Struck-by-Lightning Deaths in the United States. Before you go on your trip, make sure you have some way to keeping touch with the NOAA Emergency Weather Broadcast Radio. For more information visit the NOAA lightning safety website or the National Lightning Safety Institute’s webpage for hikers. Crouch on the ground with your weight on the balls of the feet, your feet together, your head lowered and ears covered. If lightning strikes near you, electrical currents could travel through the pipes in your home. People in groups should find shelter at least 100 feet away from one another. Never take a bath or shower during a thunderstorm. If you have any metal – a metal-frame pack or hiking poles – make sure they’re at least 100 feet away from you. Always avoid isolated trees or other tall objects. Buildings which are NOT SAFE (even if they are 'grounded') have exposed openings. If suitable shelter isn’t nearby, seek protection in a valley or depression in the terrain. Image Credit: Kevin J Salisbury/Moment/GettyImages. Not all types of buildings or vehicles are safe during thunderstorms. Partially open structures such as trail shelters, patios, open garages, tents, dugouts and sheds are not safe. It is dangerous to take shelter under a tree as it is the leading cause of death from lightning strikes. Sheds, gazebos, dugouts, and bleachers do not protect from lightning and high winds. If you are caught outside in a thunderstorm, keep moving toward a safe shelter. A hard-topped vehicle is also a safe place. Remember, no place outside is safe when thunderstorms are in the area. A safe building is one that is fully enclosed and has electricity and plumbing – a home, school, office building, etc. If you can hear thunder, you are in danger – even if the sky near you is blue. In mountainous areas, thunderstorms typically develop in the early afternoon, so plan to hike early in the day and be down the mountain by noon. If a storm is approaching, descend from ridges, peaks, and elevated areas. Be mindful of any storms in your area or conditions that are right for the development of thunderstorms. Check the weather forecast before you head outside. The following guidelines should help assure that your summer hiking season is a safe and enjoyable one. Each year about 300 people are struck by lightning, but only an average of 82 people per year have died from lighting strikes since 1959.* This number has been on the decline and in the past 5 years no more than 50 have died each year.** Hikers are at a greater risk of lighting exposure, since nearly all lightning-related deaths occur outdoors. Of the universal safe places: Houses, cars, and low areas, the first two would be preferable but are not always an option if someone is caught in the wide open spaces. But while it can be beautiful, lightning is among the deadliest natural phenomena on our planet – and summer, the most popular time for hiking, is the most active time of year for storms. Most of us have witnessed the awe-inspiring beauty of lightning shows: entire clouds illuminated by sudden discharges of electric current, with thunder echoing across the landscape. Stay away from objects that conduct electricity (barbed wire fences, power lines, windmills, etc.Click here for a printer-friendly PDF When lightning strikes, make sure you are out of the way.Immediately get out and away from ponds, lakes and other bodies of water.Never use a cliff or rocky overhang for shelter.Immediately get off elevated areas such as hills, mountain ridges or peaks.If you are caught outside with no safe shelter anywhere nearby the following actions may reduce your risk: Do not lie on concrete floors, and do not lean against concrete walls.Avoid plumbing, including sinks, baths and faucets.Stay off corded phones, computers and other electrical equipment that put you in direct contact with electricity.Stay in safe shelter at least 30 minutes after you hear the last sound of thunder.When you hear thunder, immediately move to safe shelter: a substantial building with electricity or plumbing or an enclosed, metal-topped vehicle with windows up.assume the lightning position) until the storm moves away. If you hear thunder, lightning is close enough to strike you. If the storm is right on top of you, try to minimize your physical contact points to the rock (i.e.NO PLACE outside is safe when thunderstorms are in the area!.Lightning kills an average of 49 people in the United States each year, and hundreds more are severely injured. Although most lightning occurs in the summer, people can be struck at any time of year. Lightning strikes the United States about 25 million times a year. Planning, Blueprint, Minority Business, Economic Vitality
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