 |
|
|
|
|
Display Incident Data
Display Data for years prior to 2009
Displaying 1 to 50 of 231 Records
Next 50 Records
| 07/02/2009 12:00 PM Injured |
Scott Gray |
0.0 |
M |
Upton Ma
USA |
|
walking to truck in driveway |
|
Outside,Walking to Vehicle |
| New England News
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Print friendly version Watch the video [pop-up]
Buzz up!vote now
Upton man survives lightning strike
UPTON, Mass. -- An Upton man who was struck by lightning returned home Thursday evening and is now sharing his amazing story of survival.
"It was unbelievable; it was very scary," said Scott Gray, who was struck by lightning.
Gray had gone outside to start his truck when he was knocked to the ground.
"One second I was standing there, the next second I was on the ground," Gray said. "Lightning hit the light post, traveled up to the house, and took me out, literally out from under my feet."
He laid there on the soaked driveway unable to move.
"I was just helpless. I couldn't move. I was shaking and trembling all over. Like something was in me, really was the feeling. It was head to toe. Not just one part, but everywhere," Gray said.
He was finally able to get up and make his way into the kitchen, where he collapsed.
His wife rushed him to the Milford Regional Hospital for evaluation.
While Gray said he feels as though he was hit by a truck, he is expected to be ok. He underwent testing and was released from the hospital. He is resting at home.
(Copyright (c) 2009 Sunbeam Television Corp. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.) |
| 07/02/2009 12:00 PM Injured |
man |
58.0 |
M |
Sandwich Ma
USA |
|
|
|
|
| Lightning strikes Sandwich man
Text Size: A | A | A
Print this Article Email this Article
ShareThis- Share this story with your favorite social networking sites.
By Patrick Cassidy
pcassidy@capecodonline.com
July 03, 2009
Yesterday's powerful thunderstorm sent one man to the hospital after lightning struck near a home in Sandwich, dropped golf ball-sized hail on parts of Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard, and damaged a local fire department's phone system.
The 58-year-old male lightning strike victim, whose identity was not available yesterday because of medical privacy laws, was conscious and alert when firefighters took him to Cape Cod Hospital, Sandwich firefighter Tammy Pimentel said. |
| 07/01/2009 05:35 PM Killed |
Christopher West |
41.0 |
M |
Orleans Ma
USA |
|
|
N/A |
Boat,fishing,On Water,Outside,Water |
| A man was killed by a lightning strike yesterday while boating in Orleans, as fierce rainstorms battered New England yesterday.
Discuss
COMMENTS (0)
Captain Chip Burge of the Orleans Fire Department said the man was killed while in his clam boat on Little Pleasant Bay.
The Fire Department received a boat rescue call around 5:35 p.m. and, along with the Orleans harbormaster, found the man dead, alone in his boat, just east of Sipson Island, according to Burge.
The man’s name and age were not released because next-of-kin had not been notified, said Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O’Keefe.
The identity of the 66-year-old man who made the rescue call from a nearby boat and who was transported to Cape Cod Hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening, was also not being released, O’Keefe said. It was not clear last night how the caller was injured.
After finding the victim, the harbormaster towed his boat to the Portanimicut Road Landing, Burge said. Orleans police contacted State Police, who dispatched the Cape and Islands detective unit to investigate, Trooper Eric Benson said.
Other communities were also affected by weather yesterday.
Two house fires were ignited by lightning in Abington. The first, on Summer Street, was a small wall fire that was extinguished by the homeowner before the Fire Department arrived, said Captain David Farrell. The damage was estimated at $10,000 to $20,000, he said.
The second home, on Mill Street, was hit by a fire that was contained in the attic, with damage estimated between $40,000 and $50,000, Farrell said. No injuries were reported in either fire.
New Bedford and Fall River were hit the hardest during yesterday’s downpour, according to National Weather Service meteorologists. New Bedford recorded 1.5 inches of rainfall, and radar estimates indicated as much as 3 inches in Fall River, said Neal Strauss, Weather Service meteorologist.
Areas in the southeast part of the state and near the Rhode Island border also recorded high amounts of rainfall, including Plymouth, which peaked at 1.16 inches, said meteorologist Walter Drag of the Weather Service.
Pal: Lightning victim killed in ‘split second’
By Jessica Fargen
Friday, July 3, 2009 - Added 9h ago
+ Recent Articles + Recent Blog Entries + Email + Bio
E-mail Print (0) Comments Text size Share Buzz up!
The man who witnessed one of his best friends being struck and killed by lightning says he saw his buddy stand up on a fishing boat during a violent thunderstorm before a bolt struck him down in a “split second.”
“It was a hell of a bang, a big bang,” said John Jonason, 66, who was just 1,000 feet away when a fellow quahogger was killed on an Orleans bay Wednesday. “It was so bright. I couldn’t see.”
Jonason of Eastham doesn’t know why his friend, Christopher West, 41, also of Eastham, stood up amid lightning and torrential rain on Little Pleasant Bay. The strike happened at about 5:30 p.m. and the storm that preceded it moved in fast, Jonason said.
“We were quahogging. It was nice out there with just a little breeze,” Jonason said. “It came from no place. It came up on us so fast.”
He said they lay down in their boats to wait out the storm. Jonason was lying in his boat when he saw a lightning bolt hit West, who was in an aluminum boat, knocking him down.
“The wind and rain was coming down so hard. I could barely see his boat,” he said. “I didn’t have one clue why he stood up.”
After West was struck, Jonason said he tried to call 911, but his cell phone was waterlogged. He made it to land and a rescue boat was sent for West. Jonason, who was shivering from the cold water, was hospitalized overnight.
He said he believes West died instantly.
The lightning strike came as violent storms pounded Massachusetts yesterday morning, causing flooding, fires and flight delays. A Medford house fire was blamed on lightning, and a Medway church steeple was damaged by a strike. In Sandwich, a man was hospitalized after he was knocked to the ground by lightning.
West’s father, Richard West Sr. of Ashland, said his son loved fishing.
“He just loved the Cape. He loved the beach. He loved the water. He loved his boat,” he said. “He loved it. That was his whole life.”
Richard West said the news still hasn’t sunk in.
“I was shocked that he was struck by lightning. I was shocked that he was dead,” said Richard West, who last saw his son two weeks ago when he visited him in Ashland.
The office of Cape & Islands District Attorney Michael O’Keefe is investigating. An autopsy is pending.
|
| 06/30/2009 05:46 PM Injured |
Dennis Jones 1 of 2 |
55.0 |
M |
Hednesford
UK |
|
copper bracelet saved him ??? |
|
Indirect,Indoors |
| Man struck by lightning
A man today described how a lightning bolt felt like a “bomb had gone off” when it blasted a hole in the roof of his home as storms hit the West Midlands.
Lightning struck the bungalow in Staffordshire, while a house in Walsall Wood was also struck by lightning which shattered a chimney.
Dennis Jones, aged 55, of Haig Close, Hednesford, believes his life may have been saved by a copper bracelet he wears on his right wrist.
He had just got home from work at 5.46 last night and was putting his work clothes in the washing machine when the bolt hit the ridge tiles blowing a 6ft by 4ft hole in the roof.
“There was a massive bang – it was like a bomb going off,” said Dennis’s 79-year-old father Horace, who had been watching TV.
“The electricity earthed through the washing mach-ine. The hospital say the copper bracelet helped earth it.
“I was thrown across the kitchen,” said Dennis, who works for Portable Toilets Ltd in Hixon.
While the two men were recovering a neighbour call-ed the fire brigade.
“We did not realise at first that there was a big hole in our roof,” said Dennis.
A Walsall Wood pensioner was settling down to watch Andy Murray’s epic Wimbledon match when his house was struck by lightning shattering his chimney.
Brian Hone, aged 73, sat down to watch the tennis at 6.15pm but a lighting bolt sent chunks of his chimney flying across his front garden.
Firefighters rushed to the scene and set about dismantling the rest of the chimney.
The retired maintenance electrician said the firefighters finished just in time for him to catch the dramatic last few games of Murray’s contest.
He said:”I heard this loud bang. It gave me a bit of a jump. I looked out of the front window and saw my chimney lying all over the front garden. The fire brigade came out and said they needed to take the rest of the chimney apart to make it safe.” |
| 06/29/2009 12:00 PM Injured |
man |
0.0 |
M |
Pensacola Fl
USA |
|
leaning on a fence |
|
Fence,Outside,School |
| an injured by lightning strike
Related Content
http://www.pensacolanewsjournal.com
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PENSACOLA, Fla. -- Authorities say a groundskeeper at a Pensacola community college was injured by a lightning strike.
Campus police at Pensacola Junior College's Warrington Campus say the man was leaning on a fence that was hit by lightning when he received the jolt Monday afternoon.
Officials say the man was conscious when paramedics took him away. He complained of numbness down one side off his body.
He was taken to a nearby hospital, but his condition was unknown.
Information from: Pensacola News Journal, http://www.pensacolanewsjournal.com |
| 06/27/2009 12:00 PM Killed |
2 students |
0.0 |
U |
Zarubino Primorye territory
USSR |
am not pm |
watching the sun rise |
|
Outside |
| Ruslan Krivobok
11:3427/06/2009
VLADIVOSTOK, June 27 (RIA Novosti) - Two students celebrating their high school graduation died early on Saturday morning in Russia's Far East when they were struck by lightning, local police said.
One boy and one girl were killed in the lightning strike in the village of Zarubino in the Primorye Territory's Khasansky region, while another girl and a policeman suffered burns and were taken to a local hospital.
"The tragedy occurred on Saturday at 5 a.m. Vladivostok time [19:00 GMT on Friday]. After a graduation ball 15 students went to the beach to watch the sun rise. They were accompanied by a police officer, who was keeping order," a Primorye police source told RIA Novosti.
"A loud rumble of thunder was heard, and lightning flashed. Two students - a boy and a girl - died at the scene. Another girl and the police officer were hospitalized with burns," he added.
The source said the lightning struck as the group passed near overhead electric power lines.
He added that several other graduation balls in area passed without incident, and all had police officers present to ensure order.
|
| 06/27/2009 12:00 PM Injured |
6 boys |
17.0 |
M |
Small Heath Park Birmingham
UKq |
|
in park |
|
Outside |
| Teen suffers heart attack after lightning strike
7 hours 40 mins ago
Print Story
A 17-year-old teen has suffered a heart attack after being struck by lightning in a park and is now in a critical but stable condition. Skip related content
RELATED PHOTOS / VIDEOS
Boy suffers heart attack after lightning strike
He was one of six teenagers rushed to hospital following the strike in Small Heath Park, Birmingham, early on Saturday evening. It is understood three of the other youths remain in hospital under observation.
A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: "Crews arrived at the park to find a teenage boy receiving CPR from a member of the public.
"The 17-year-old boy suffered serious burns after being struck by lightning and was in cardiac arrest.
"Crews continued emergency medical treatment on the boy and transferred him by land ambulance to Heartlands Hospital."
A second teenage boy suffered convulsions consistent with an electric shock. He was treated at the scene before also being taken to Heartlands Hospital.
The other four victims suffered minor injuries and were assessed at the scene before three of them were taken to City Hospital and one to Heartlands Hospital. |
| 06/27/2009 12:00 PM Injured |
man |
35.0 |
M |
Cromwell Ct
USA |
|
putting key into garbage truck door |
|
Golf Course,Outside,Touching a vehicle |
| Worker struck by lightning at Travelers tourney
Posted 3h 37m ago | Comment | Recommend E-mail | Save | Print |
CROMWELL, Conn. (AP) — A worker for a trash hauling company was struck by lightning at the Travelers Championship at the TPC River Highlands golf course on Saturday night.
Cromwell Fire Department officials said the man was in his mid-30s, but would not release further details. Security officials said the man was conscious when he was placed in an ambulance and taken to Middlesex Hospital in Middletown. The man's condition was not released.
A thunderstorm struck the course less than an hour after play ended Saturday night.
Security officials near the scene where the man was hit said he was picking up garbage behind a hospitality tent near the 18th tee. They said he was putting his key into the driver's side door when lightning struck.
___--
HAY FEVER: Spectators and players alike were bothered by the hay and pine mulch used by course workers this week to help absorb moisture after a daily dose of rain at the TPC course.
The odor bothered Bubba Watson, too.
"I've got a little sickness right now, so I'm drugged up," Watson said after shooting 7-under 63 in Sunday's final round. "I'm trying to take some allergy medicine. My allergies get real bad out here with the hay and last week (at the U.S. Open) with the hay.
"But I got around, scraped it around."
Tournament officials said rubber mats will be installed in high-traffic areas next year instead of spreading hay and mulch to absorb ground moisture and improve traction for spectators.
___--
QUICK ROUND: Vaughn Taylor and Marc Leishman were the first group to tee off in the final round, and they made quick work of the TPC River Highlands golf course, finishing in 3 hours and 4 minutes.
"We're both naturally very fast players, so that helps, I think," said Leishman, who shot a 71 and completed the tournament at 1-over par. "It's nice to have two quick players together and have a round without waiting."
Taylor was 3-over par for the round after opening at even par.
Taylor's wife, Leot Chen, said she was happy about the quick round, because it gave her more time for shopping in New York City.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
|
| 06/26/2009 05:30 PM Injured |
woman 2 of 2 |
29.0 |
F |
Stamford Ct
USA |
|
taking shelter under a tree |
|
Outside,Raining,School,Soccer,Sports Field,Taking Shelter,Under Trees |
|
| 06/26/2009 05:30 PM Injured |
man 1 of 2 |
31.0 |
M |
Stamford Ct
USA |
|
taking shelter under a tree |
|
Outside,Raining,School,Soccer,Sports Field,Taking Shelter,Under Trees |
| Couple survive being hit by lightning
Staff Report
Posted: 06/26/2009 10:57:42 PM EDT
Updated: 06/27/2009 02:39:34 AM EDT
STAMFORD -- A man and a woman survived being struck by lightning behind Stamford High School on Friday evening, according to officials.
The woman was recovering from burns Friday night in the burn unit at Bridgeport Hospital, while the man was being held for observation at Stamford Hospital, according to police. She was conscious and stable, but being treated with caution, officials said.
The man, 31, and the woman, 29, ran for cover when heavy rainfall and lightning broke out while they were on the soccer field behind the school shortly after 5:30 p.m., Stamford police Lt. Tim Shaw said.
While they were under a tree, lightning struck both of them, knocking the man off his feet and the woman to the ground, Shaw said. After waking her up, the man called 911, he said.
Police, Fire & Rescue and EMS workers responded and the two were taken to Stamford Hospital. The woman, who had burn marks on her shirt and shorts, was treated and moved to the Bridgeport facility, Shaw said.
-- John Breunig |
| 06/24/2009 12:00 PM Injured |
man |
21.0 |
M |
Anderson county SC
USA |
|
installing cable under a house |
|
Construction site,Outside |
| Man reports he was hit by lightning in Anderson County
STORY TOOLS
E-mail story
Comments
iPod friendly
Printer friendly
SHARE AND ENJOY
MORE LOCAL NEWS
Gov. Mark Sanford to return to office Wednesday
Anderson School District 5 passes budget
Group seeking money for historic marker at Belton Train Depot
RATE THIS ARTICLE
Unrated
An unidentified 21-year-old man beat the odds Wednesday night when he was struck by lightning and survived.
A Belton emergency first responder said the man was installing cable service under a house on Cola Hawkins Road near Broadway Lake. The man told emergency medical personnel that he felt a surge of electricity pass through his body and noticed that the electricity in the home had flickered.
He then called 9-1-1.
He was taken to AnMed Health for precautionary reasons, officials said.
A man identified as the owner of the home did not want to comment.
|
| 06/24/2009 12:00 PM Injured |
man |
46.0 |
M |
Sringfield MO
USA |
|
loading hay onto trailer |
|
Farming,Field,Outside |
| A man loading hay onto a trailer hit by lightning Wednesday night said he would seek treatment at a local hospital, Springfield police reported.
The 46-year-old man told investigating officers he was loading hay onto a trailer in a field near Interstate 44 and North Mulroy Road about 7 p.m. when lightning hit the trailer, sending the current into him, Lt. Roger Moore said.
The man said the jolt threw him away from the trailer.
The man said his back hurt and that he would seek treatment at a local hospital, Moore said.
|
| 06/23/2009 12:00 PM Injured |
Angel Perez 2 of 2 |
0.0 |
M |
Napes Fl
USA |
|
loading a dump truck |
|
Mine,Outside |
|
| 06/23/2009 12:00 PM unknown |
Lightning on Mars |
0.0 |
U |
USA |
|
|
|
Education |
| MARTIAN LIGHTNING
In a dust storm, scientists find the first direct evidence of electrical discharge on Mars By Jenny Lauren Lee Web edition : Monday, June 22nd, 2009 Text Size
Enlarge
Electrical dustLightning has been detected for the first time on Mars, and it may look something like this artist’s illustration. Bits of debris in a dust devil rub against one another and then discharge, causing a faint glow like the one at the bottom of the image.University of Michigan
Scientists say they have seen the first direct evidence of lightning on Mars, in the form of electrical discharges during a Martian dust storm.
The finding has implications for human travel to the Red Planet and for studying possible origins of life on Mars, the authors say in a paper to appear in Geophysical Research Letters.
It has been thought that lightning might be possible on Mars. Bits of dust rubbing against each other in one of the planet’s famous dust devils could charge up the particles the same way that running on a carpet charges up socks. All that charge could then be discharged in a zap, either as lightning or a shock.
But catching Martian lightning in the act was difficult: The lightning bursts were too small to distinguish from the energy emanating from the planet itself. And the dust storms themselves obscured the faint glow that might have been visible from just above the red planet.
To “see” the lightning, researchers from the University of Michigan and colleagues used a new detector that can distinguish microwave radiation emanating from natural objects like dirt and rocks from a burst of lightning. Radiation from natural objects, including Martian rocks, is relatively constant; radiation from lightning displays changes in the distribution of frequencies of light.
Using a 34-meter-diameter radio telescope in the California desert, for about five hours a day for 12 days between May 22 and June 16, 2006, the researchers found no signs of the variable radiation, except during a period of two or three hours. At that time a Martian dust storm was on the side of Mars facing the scientists’ detector. “Every time we moved off Mars the [signal] went away. Then we moved it back and it came back again,” says Christopher Ruf of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, one of the study’s authors.
Lightning as an explanation for the results makes sense, says geophysicist Phil Christensen of Arizona State University in Tempe. “I can’t think of a better explanation,” he says. “They found it to be in a dust storm, and that’s exactly where you’d expect it.”
Lightning on Mars is probably fainter and more diffuse than the lightning commonly observed on Earth, says Nilton Renno, another author of the study. “The atmosphere [on Mars] is much less dense,” he says. Instead of forks of lightning, Martian lightning bursts would cover a wider area and would have a “faint glow” like the light in a neon tube.
Print|Comment |
| 06/23/2009 12:00 PM Injured |
Eloixander Fernandez 1 of 2 |
22.0 |
M |
Naples Fl
USA |
|
loading a dump truck |
|
Mine,Outside |
| Two men injured when lightning strikes dump truck near them
By RYAN MILLS (Contact)
Originally published 2:34 p.m., Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Updated 6:34 p.m., Tuesday, June 23, 2009
A
©2009 Yahoo! Inc.
Video
How to prepare for lightning. Watch »
RELATED STORIES
WEATHER ALERT: Severe thunderstorm warning issued for north Collier
RELATED LINKS
Get the latest weather updates in our weather radar and AccuWeather Video Forecast.
SEVERE WEATHER GUIDE: Parts of Florida, including Southwest Florida, hold the title of "Lightning Capital of North America." Read all about it here in the lightning section.
MORE LOCAL NEWS
Police Beat: June 23, 2009
East Naples woman loses boat propeller lawsuit
Higher parking fees proposed for SWFIA
TELL US ABOUT IT
What would you add to this story? Tell us what we missed.
Do you have photos from this event? Documents we need to see? Share with us.
Upload photos & videos
More ways to get your stuff online and in the paper.
STORY TOOLS
E-mail story
iPod friendly
Printer friendly
SHARE AND ENJOY [?]
Two truck drivers literally received the shock of their lives Tuesday afternoon when they were indirectly struck by lightning while loading a dump truck at a Golden Gate Estates mine.
The drivers, identified as 22-year-old Eloixander Fernandez and Angel Perez, whose age is unclear, were conscious and alert when paramedics arrived, and were transported to NCH North Naples Hospital for observation. Their injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.
The dump truck was struck by lightning just before 2 p.m. at the Jones Mine, 16000 Immokalee Road, which is owned by Collier Aggregates, LLC, Collier County Emergency Medical Services spokeswoman Cherie Wilson-Watson said. Fernandez and Perez, who were standing nearby, were injured by the strike.
“They did receive something of a jolt,” Wilson-Watson said. “If they would have been hit directly, they wouldn’t be here today.”
Slina Carrera, the office manager for Soil Tech Distributors in Collier County, which employs Fernandez, said she believed the lightning actually struck a pipe. Both men received minor burns on their thighs, Carrera said, adding that their feet were stinging and burning.
“According to everybody, they were just standing, waiting to be loaded and it struck,” Carrera said.
Perez possibly works as an independent contractor for Tate Transportation Corp., said Tate Office Manager Jennifer Sanchez.
As the summer progresses, thunderstorms with lightning will be an almost daily occurrence in Southwest Florida. On Tuesday afternoon there were several small brush fires started by lightning near the Jones Mine, authorities said.
The average lightning bolt carries 30 thousand amps of electric charge, 100 million volts of electric potential, and generates a temperature that can exceed 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the National Weather Service. The Florida peninsula is the most active lightning region in North America.
“Historically it’s the first strikes and the last strikes that cause the most injuries and fatalities,” said Bart Hagemeyer, a forecaster for the National Weather Service office in Melbourne. Most people move indoors by the time a storm really gets roaring, he said.
People need to keep their eyes to the sky and be aware of storms moving into the area, Hagemeyer said.
“Picnic shelters and pavilions are not good shelters,” he said. “You want to be indoors if possible or inside a vehicle with the doors shut.”
Being indoors was not enough to prevent 64-year-old Steve Marshburn from being struck by lightning, however.
Marshburn, who runs the North Carolina-based nonprofit Lightning Strike & Electric Shock Survivors International, Inc., was struck by lightning in 1969 while working at a bank drive-through. He said a bolt of lightning from a storm miles away hit the drive-through speaker, traveled into the bank and struck him in the back.
“It felt like somebody had hit me with a baseball bat with a full swing, and it also felt like someone may have hit me in the spine with a machete,” Marshburn said. “It felt like my back had split wide open.”
Marshburn said indirect-lightning strike victims often have lingering health problems as a result of being hit. He recommends that people who are hit find a good neurologist who is experienced working with lightning strike victims.
Collier Aggregates owner Damon Jones said his employees typically work indoors. He called the lightning strike injuries “one of those freak of nature things.”
“You never like to see anybody get hurt,” Jones said. “You never like that to happen.”
|
| 06/22/2009 12:00 PM Killed |
9 killed |
0.0 |
U |
India |
|
|
|
|
| Nine killed by lightning strikes across state
Post Comment Larger | Smaller
Tags : ahmedabad, crime, lightning strikes
Express News Service
Posted: Wednesday, Jun 24, 2009 at 0223 hrs IST
Related Articles
Most Read Articles
Extramarital affair: Mehsana woman dies in hospital
Man booked for rape of 17-year-old girl in Jamnagar
Harassment by moneylenders claims another life
SOG busts fake currency racket in Punagam, arrest 3
Surat gangrape: Muslim women call for strict punishment for accused
Discussion
Blogs
Pinarayi and 24 - By MK DAMODARAN
Ceo - By Clement Rego
Total bias towards k... - By asifbhat
Total bias towards k... - By asifbhat
Dear kashmiri - By vishal
Vulnerable women - By Dr. Ram Chander Sharma
How astoundingly, wo... - By bvindh
Vadodara:
At least nine people were killed in separate incidents of lightning strike on Tuesday, said officials.
Six people died in Jamnagar district while three in Vadodara district. One person each died in Dwarka, Kalyanpur, Bhanvad, Bedi, Khambalia and Sutaria villages of Jamnagar, they said.
Jaswant Wajisinh Baria (52), a farmer, and his buffalo calf were killed in a lightning strike at his house in Kadwal village at 5.30 pm. According to the police, Baria was sleeping under a tree when a bolt of lightning struck his thatched house, killing him on the spot. His wife, Sumitra, suffered burns at several places and is now undergoing treatment. Baria’s three-year-old buffalo was also killed.
Elsewhere, at Chameta under the Naswadi police station, two persons died after lightning struck the village around 6.30 pm. Sub-Inspector Indrasinh Baria said: “We have been unable to identify them as their bodies are charred. Villagers suspect them to be migrant labourers.” |
| 06/18/2009 12:00 PM unknown |
lightning and hurricanes |
0.0 |
U |
Isreal |
|
|
|
Education |
| New Worlds: Lightning activity peaks a day before hurricane winds do
By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
Print Subscribe
E-mail Toolbar
+ Recommend:
What's this?
Hurricanes are Earth's most destructive storms, causing devastation every year. Now Israeli scientists have discovered a way to predict their intensity with considerable accuracy, even though these storms spend most of their "lives" over tropical oceans, where few people reside and few measurements are taken. Prof. Colin Price of Tel Aviv University, together with Prof. Yoav Yair and Dr. Mustafa Asfur of the Open University of Israel, have discovered a surprising connection between lightning activity and hurricane intensity. They published their findings in Nature Geoscience.
The scientists studied 58 intense hurricanes around the world between 2005 and 2007, and found that 56 showed a significant correlation between wind velocity and lightning activity. In addition, for more than 70% of the hurricanes, the lightning activity peaked about one day before the winds did. Recent advances in global lightning detection have allowed scientists to measure the electrical "pulse" of hurricanes from thousands of kilometers away.
Today, lightning activity can be monitored in real time using only a few dozen ground stations, all synchronized through the Internet with global positioning system (GPS) clocks. One such station is in Tel Aviv, and the real-time images of global lightning are freely available at http://wwlln.net/.
FIGHTING THE BRAIN DRAIN
The fact that the government has decided to increase the budget of the Science and Technology Ministry by 60% indicates that it has decided to promote research and development, said its minister, MK Daniel Herschkowitz at a recent meeting of the Knesset Science and Technology Committee. The minister said he would put more stress on discouraging the brain drain of young scientists, and expand science education in all sectors of society.
The state "invests about $1 million in every scientist, but the fruits are often harvested in the US, where 3,000 of Israel's 4,000 scientists now live," he asserted. "We must bring back these Israeli scientists," said Herschkowitz.
The minister said he would establish a coordinating body for science, at the suggestion of MK Meir Shetreet, chairman of the Knesset Science and Technology Committee. This body would include the minister, the president of the Israel National Academy of Science and the Arts, the chairman of the Council of Higher Education's Planning and Budgeting Committee, the head of the National Council for Research and Development, the head of the Israel Defense Forces, the Defense Ministry's Administration for Research and Development and the chief scientists of the Science and Industry, Trade and Employment Ministry. Herschkowitz said his ministry aimed at reorganizing and coordinating scientific policies, and "resuscitating" the Ministerial Committee on Science to forge long-term scientific policy. His ministry would also institutionalize startup research and finance dozens of one-year projects carried out by individual scientists.
Neurology Prof. Oded Abramski, chairman of the National Council for Research and Development, said he was encouraged by the fact that the science minister is himself a scientist, adding that "I see good days ahead for research, science and technology in Israel."
DID EVOLUTION MAKE US CANCER PRONE?
Did some human mutations during evolution play a role in our susceptibility to diseases such as cancer? Researchers at Ben-Gurion University's National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev (NIBN) have a hunch that there is a connection. Dr. Eitan Rubin, an internationally recognized expert in bioinformatics, and Dr. Dan Mishmar, from the life sciences department, are members of the NIBN and collaborators on an intellectual journey that they believe provides enough clues to answer this question.
The team set out to look for mutations in the genome of the mitochondria - the part of every cell responsible for energy production, and which is passed to offspring only by females - that may have functional importance for evolution as well as for disease. "We hypothesized that some mutations accumulated during evolution played a role in human adaptation to ancient environments, and play a role in today's susceptibility to complex diseases such as cancer," explains Rubin. "To test this we analyzed the same data in a different way and showed that there is a connection."
Their findings were recently featured as the cover story of the leading US journal Genome Research. The team - including two graduate students - found that the mitochondrial genome of humans who migrated out of Africa to Europe 100,000 years ago carried seven mutations found in almost all of today's Europeans. Since such "evolutionary mutations" are found in the general population, many researchers regard them as functionally unimportant.
"We are the first to show conclusive evidence of the role of mitochondrial evolutionary mutations and cancer," declares Mishmar. Rubin adds: "We hope this will direct us to new ways of predicting how cancer appears in humans." |
| 06/18/2009 12:00 PM Killed |
10 people a year |
0.0 |
U |
Sofia
Bulgaria |
|
|
|
|
| Some 10 people struck by lightning in Bulgaria annually
20 June 2009 | 08:17 | FOCUS News Agency
Sofia. Some 10 people are struck by lightning in Bulgaria annually, Hristo Velkov, rescuer on duty in the Mountain Rescue Service, told FOCUS News Agency.
He says people are struck by lightning both in the mountains and in countryside, in fields and gardens. Apart from the regular pieces of advice, he recommends that tourists who are overtaken by a storm avoid standing on hills and, if possible, lie down because the horizontal body position is safer than vertical one in such moments.
Veselina FOTEVA
© 2009 All rights reserved. Reproducing this website’s contents requires obligatory reference to FOCUS Information Agency!
|
| 06/18/2009 12:00 PM Injured |
3 scouts |
0.0 |
M |
Oxford Wi
USA |
|
camping in tents |
|
Boy Scouts,Camping,Outside,Tent |
| Lightning scare for camping Batavia Scouts
Comments
June 20, 2009
By ANDRE SALLES asalles@scn1.com
As a week of wild weather continues, two adults and one child on a Batavia Cub Scout outing escaped serious injury when lightning struck their campground.
The three were part of a trip organized by Cub Scout Pack 112 of Batavia to Camp Freeland Leslie in Oxford, Wis. The camp, 25 miles northeast of the Wisconsin Dells, is owned by the Boy Scouts of America's Three Fires Council, based in St. Charles.
Three Fires Council President Matt Ackerman said lightning struck the ground near the three, who were in tents around 11 p.m. Thursday. No one was hit directly and no injuries were reported, but all three -- a father from Chicago, his son from Batavia and another adult from North Aurora -- reported "discomfort" and were taken to Divine Savior of Mercy Hospital in Portage, Wis., about 20 miles away.
The father and son decided to return to the camp, while the North Aurora adult went home, Ackerman said. He did not release their names.
About 370 campers, mostly from the Three Fires Council, were taking part in the four-day, three-night campout. A tornado watch was in effect at the time of the lightning strike. Scout leaders are trained in weather safety procedures, Ackerman said.
On Friday morning, a stormy blast roared through northern Kane County, but Tri-Cities emergency officials reported few problems.
St. Charles Assistant Fire Chief Joe Schelstreet said the emergency operations center was activated as it usually is during severe weather, although firefighters didn't respond to much more than fire alarms set off by power outages in the northern end of the department's coverage area.
In other parts of northern Illinois, flash flooding closed roads and backed up traffic in Chicago following heavy rains that beat down on the city.
Illinois State Police said part of the southbound Edens Expressway (Interstate 94) was closed by flooding. And Chicago police said flooding closed a northbound ramp on Lake Shore Drive.
Weather service radar indicates that between one and three inches of rain fell along a line from Rockford to Marengo to the north side of Chicago.
Large hail was reported near Rockford and Belvidere, and a funnel cloud was spotted on radar a mile south of Lake in the Hills in southern McHenry County.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
|
| 06/18/2009 12:00 PM Injured |
Sophie Frost |
14.0 |
F |
UK |
|
i pod saved her |
|
I Pod,Outside |
| Saved by my iPod: Girl survives lightning strike after wire diverts 300,000 volts
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 7:48 PM on 19th June 2009
Comments (23)
Add to My Stories
A teenage girl survived a terrifying lightning strike after she was saved by the wire of her iPod.
Schoolgirl Sophie Frost and her boyfriend Mason Billington, both 14, stopped to shelter under a tree when a storm struck as they were walking near their homes.
Doctors believe Sophie survived the 300,000-volt surge only because it travelled through the gadget’s wire, diverting it away from her vital organs.
Scorched: Sophie Frost, 14, shows what happened to her clothes when she and her boyfriend Mason Billington were struck by lightning
The teenager was taken to hospital and is recovering from burns to her chest and legs while Mason suffered damage to his eyes.
More...
Girls left with horrific burns after stepping barefoot on newly-laid tarmac beach path
Both are expected to make a full recovery and Sophie may not even have a permanent scar.
Sophie, on her hospital bed, said she was saved by headphone wires diverting the bolt away from her body
She will be thankful she was wearing her iPod, which she had been given four days earlier as a gift from her grandmother.
Returning from hospital yesterday after three days of treatment, she said: ‘I’m just glad to be alive. I don’t remember a thing about what happened, but from what everyone tells me it’s a miracle I’m still here.
‘Everybody’s said the iPod must have diverted the lightning away from my body, which probably saved my life. I’ve got a few burns, but it’s all healing OK.’
Sophie and Mason were knocked unconscious by the lightning bolt while holding hands and taking shelter in a field on Monday night.
Mason came round and carried Sophie, who was scorched and unconscious, to a nearby road where he flagged down a female motorist who took the couple to Southend hospital.
The iPod had been bought by Sophie's grandmother only a few days before the lightning strike
Sophie suffered burns to her body and legs, some temporary damage to her eyes and a perforated eardrum.
Dr Ian Cotton, a reader in electrical engineering at Manchester University, said Sophie could have been saved by her iPod.
‘If lightning hits a person it can do one of two things. It can go down the outside of the skin, which is more likely if someone is caught in a storm and their body is wet.
‘Or it can puncture the skin and go into the body. Potentially a metal wire, which is highly conductive could divert the electricity away from the heart and save someone’s life.’
Sophie was reunited with her boyfriend and family in Rayleigh, Essex, yesterday after being transferred to the Broomfield Hospital for burns treatment.
She said Mason, whose eyesight is now back to normal, was a hero. ‘My mum thinks he’s wonderful,’ she added.
Freak lightning strike puts gaping hole through roof
A bolt of lightning hit a home in Cheshire and left a gaping hole in its roof.
Lorraine and Luciano Coppola's home burst into flames after the strike and the remains of a bed and chest of drawers can be seen from above the building.
Enlarge
Bolt from the blue: A freak lightning strike put a gaping hole in the roof of this home in Altincham, Cheshire
Thirty firefighters rushed to the luxury townhouse,in Bowdon, Altrincham, at 10pm on Thursday night, and battled for hours to contain the blaze. Eleven nearby homes had to be evacuated.
Fire chief Nigel Perkins said it was the first time in 23 years he'd seen a house struck by lightning.
Mrs Coppola, 62, a mother-of-three, was alone in the house at the time.
She said: 'There was a very loud bang, the lights went out and I thought there'd been a power cut. I thought lightning must have hit somewhere.
'I went to check with my neighbour John and then from around the back I could see smoke coming from the back bedroom.' |
| 06/18/2009 07:30 PM Injured |
Kirk Krzyzanowski |
41.0 |
M |
Weld county Co
USA |
|
on the 13th hole |
N/A |
Golf Course,Outside |
| GREELEY, Colo. -- Severe weather in Colorado turned extremely dangerous for a golfer in Weld County, who was struck by lightning on the 13th hole of the Boomerang Golf Links Thursday evening.
The 41-year-old man lost consciousness and stopped breathing after lightning struck near him at about 7:30 p.m. according to the Union Colony Fire Authority. When firefighters arrived, the man was alert but disoriented. He was taken to the Northern Colorado Medical Center for treatment of burns on his body. His name has not been released.
This is the third time someone has been struck by lightning in Weld County in less than a month.
Lightning killed an Evans man, Efrain Trevizo-Molina, in early June. In late May, a Loveland man was seriously hurt when he was struck while skeet shooting.
Lightning knocked Josh Renuch unconscious to the ground and caused his gun to explode in his hands. Renuch's friend, Brent Kuene was also hit by lightning but was not seriously injured.
More than 70 percent of lightning fatalities happen between June and August and occur mostly to men, according to a National Weather Service lightning expert. Men younger than 40 account for 60 percent of all lightning fatalities, said John Jensenius with NWS.
"(Lightning) can stop someone's heart," said Dr. Tim Hutchison, medical director of North Colorado Medical Center. "It can really cause them to quit breathing. That is why it is so important for people to administer CPR if someone is unresponsive and not breathing."
n Thursday night, Kirk Krzyzanowski, 41, of Greeley was struck by lightning on the Boomerang Links Golf Course in west Greeley. He was listed in fair condition at North Colorado Medical Center on Friday afternoon.
|
| 06/17/2009 12:00 PM Injured |
girl |
14.0 |
M |
Union county Tn
USA |
|
holding a door nob inside the house |
N/A |
Indirect,Indoors |
| The most recent band of storms to roll across East Tennessee has resulted in a Union County child being struck by lightning.
Girl struck by lightning
Union County dispatchers confirm a child has been struck by lightning near Luttrell.
The 14-year-old girl was struck in the hand, according to the Union County Sheriff's Office. She was heading into the house when the lightning hit her.
She is able to walk around and is apparently more scared than anything. She has been taken to the hospital to get checked out.
It happened just inside Union County, just off Tazewell Pike.
Fire officials warn about lightning strikes indoors
Posted: June 18, 2009 11:01 PM
Video Gallery <1>
Fire officials warn about lightning strikes indoors
1:46
Top Stories
Donations down, volunteer firefighters may run out of fuel
Local day campers enjoy outdoors, despite the heat
Enforcing state's new texting law will be tough
Duct tape patch on leaky sink helps flunk Old City eatery
Discuss & Share
Sound Off
Join the discussion >>
WATE Blogs
Leave a comment >>
Photos and Video
Share your pix & flix >>
By ANN KEIL
6 News Reporter
KNOXVILLE (WATE) -- After a Union County teen was struck by lightning indoors during storms Thursday afternoon, the Knoxville Fire Department has some warnings for the public.
Knoxville Fire Department spokesman D.J. Corcoran says while the best protection from lightning is to go inside, you're not always safe.
Lightning can get inside a home through a direct strike, through the ground outside, or through wires or pipes that run in from the outside.
Once inside a home, lightning can travel through a number of different objects, then into your body.
"Stay away from any doors, windows or running water. Do not wash dishes or wash your hands," Corcoran says.
In fact, he says avoid running water for any purpose. Metal pipes and plumbing can conduct electricity if they're struck by lightning.
"Don't use a phone unless it is cordless. Don't use anything electrical, any appliances, hairdryers or drills. Don't work out in your shop," Corcoran says.
He also says you may want to unplug all major appliances to keep them from getting damaged.
Although the odds of getting struck by lightning are one in 260,000 he says it's better to be safe than sorry.
Keep in mind, lightning can strike 10 miles away from a thunderstorm.
The teenager in Union County was struck by lightning around 2:30 Thursday afternoon at her home in Luttrell.
A spokesperson with the Union County Sheriff's Department says the teen had walked in her home through a front door, and just before she let go of the doorknob inside, the lightning hit.
An ambulance took the girl to the hospital as a precaution, and her family says she's already improving. In fact, she was walking around and talking after she was hit.
|
| 06/17/2009 12:00 PM Killed |
Georgette Tillett |
23.0 |
F |
Columbia MO
USA |
|
walking across field |
N/A |
Field,fishing,Outside,Walking |
| Columbia, Mo. -
A 23-year-old Central Methodist University student died after being struck by lightning Wednesday near Rocky Ford Conservation area north of Columbia. She was from Waynesville, Mo.
The Boone County medical examiner’s office says Georgette Tillett died Wednesday after fishing with friends at the conservation area.
Investigators say the woman had been walking with two men across an open field after fishing when the lightning struck.
A 23-year-old woman died last night after she was struck by lightning after fishing with friends near Rocky Fork Conservation Area north of Columbia.
The Boone County medical examiner’s office identified her as Georgette Tillett, 23, of Waynesville. Publically available data online indicate she was a recent graduate of Central Methodist University and a cross-country runner.
Rescue efforts were delayed yesterday because firefighters could not immediately find the victim and two men she was with in an open field off Peabody Road, Boone County Fire Protection District Division Chief Gale Blomenkamp said.
“It was difficult,” Blomenkamp said. “There was some confusion about where they were at.”
Firefighters were dispatched at about 7:30 p.m. yesterday to Peabody Road near the conservation area for a woman who was struck by lightning. The woman had been walking with two men across an open field after fishing when the electrical storm approached, Blomenkamp said.
Initial directions provided by a 911 caller were inaccurate, and the cell phone used to place the emergency call did not plot on a dispatch system to produce coordinates, Blomenkamp said.
Firefighters eventually found a vehicle parked at the end of a dead-end road. Some firefighters walked and others drove personal vehicles through the field.
Firefighters reached the victim about 20 minutes after the dispatch call. Blomenkamp said firefighters took over CPR efforts from one of the men with her. Firefighters then placed her on a backboard and started carrying her on a flatbed pickup that took her to a waiting ambulance.
Tillett was taken to University Hospital, arriving there at 8:31 p.m. unconscious and not breathing, Blomenkamp said. Firefighters had asked for a helicopter transport, but the storm prevented the flight.
Blomenkamp said that although lightning can appear to strike far away, people outdoors should seek shelter inside a building or vehicle immediately after hearing thunder.
“Understand that lightning can strike up to 10 miles from the rainstorm,” he said. “When people hear thunder, that’s their cue to seek shelter inside.”
Tribune reporter T.J. Greaney contributed to this story.
Reach Joe Meyer at 573-815-1718 or e-mail jmeyer@columbiatribune.com.
|
| 06/15/2009 12:00 PM Injured |
Jay T Crowe 1 of 2 |
0.0 |
M |
Junction City Ky
USA |
|
standing in driveway |
|
During the storm,Outside,Walking to Vehicle |
| Tuesday June 16, 2009
Lightning strike barely misses Boyle couple
By DAVID BROCK
dbrock@amnews.com
It is easy to detect the growing worry in Jay T. Crowe and his girlfriend Karen Snow as the sky over their shoulders darkens and thunder begins to vibrate in the distance on Monday afternoon.
The couple could be forgiven for their apprehension as they stand in the spot where they say they had a close encounter with a lightning strike less than 24 hours earlier outside their Bonta Lane home near Junction City.
"People don't realize the power of that electrical current," Crowe said. "I am just thankful that it was not a direct hit. I served two tours in the infantry in Vietnam, and I have never experienced a blast that compares with that."
The near miss came just days after a Shelby County man died from injuries sustained when he was struck by lightning early last week.
Crowe and Snow said they knew the weather was getting worse but were rushing to leave the house so they could pick up Snow's daughter. However, Snow had a last-minute change of heart and came outside to tell Crowe, who was sitting in his truck, that they should wait out the storm.
"I came out to tell him to get back in the house because it was more severe than we thought," she said. "I felt the hair on my arms start to stand up a split second before it hit."
As Snow stood on the driveway and Crowe sat in the passenger seat, a bolt of lightning struck a tree less than 10 feet away, exploding an outdoor clock that hung from the tree and showering rocks and bark onto the driveway.
Crowe was knocked over onto the passenger seat of the truck, while Snow stumbled several times as she tried to run for cover.
"The truck actually shook," Crowe said. "It was one of the brightest things I have ever seen, so much that it blinds you. I think it must have come through that fork in the tree, gone into the roots and run across the ground."
Luckily the physical effects for both seem to have been temporary.
Crowe said he had some hearing loss in his right ear for about 30 minutes and was extremely disoriented for several minutes after the strike.
Snow's hair was standing up from the electricity, and she complained of tightness in her chest.
"I struggled with whether to go in to the hospital," Crowe said. "I tend to try and wait on things to see if I feel better. It was a couple of hours before I felt like myself again, but I did."
The couple now say they will never again doubt the power of Mother Nature.
"It was so sudden and terrible," Crowe said. "That strike could have just as easily killed us. It's unreal what that electricity feels like."
Copyright:The Advocate-Messenger 2009 |
| 06/14/2009 04:04 PM Injured |
2 of 2 |
0.0 |
M |
West Ashley SC
USA |
|
taking shelter in a bus stop |
|
Bus Stop,During the storm,Outside,Raining,Taking Shelter |
| Lightning Strikes Victim in West Ashleyposted 06/14/09 6:11 pm
COMMENT | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | PRINT | EMAIL | RSS
search tags: lightning • ashley oaks
Stay on top of breaking news!
Sign up for ABC News 4 e-mail alerts.
Your Email:
RELATED STORIES:
Pentagon: US troops erred in Afghan air strikes
New US general vows 'careful' use of airstrikes
Charleston, SC - In West Ashley Sunday, one person has been transferred to the hospital after being struck by lightning.
A call for help came in around 4pm this afternoon from the Ashley Oaks apartment complex.
So far no word on the condition of the victim in that incident. Details are slim right now, but we'll update with new information as soon as it becomes available. |
| 06/14/2009 04:04 PM Injured |
Broderick Seay 1 of 2 |
16.0 |
M |
West Ashley SC
USA |
|
taking shelter in a bus stop |
|
Bus Stop,Outside,Raining,Taking Shelter |
| CLEVE BRYAN
Published: June 16, 2009
Sunday afternoon 16-year-old Broderick Seay and his friend 19-year-old Dedrea Rodriguez were struck by lightning at the Ashley Oaks Apartments in West Ashley.
Both teens were walking to the apartment of Seay’s sister when they got caught in heavy rain and sought cover in a covered bus stop shelter.
As they waited for the storm to pass lightning struck them at about 4pm.
Seay was knocked unconscious and Rodriguez says she felt a powerful headache and ringing in her ears.
Rodriguez picked Seay up off the ground and brought him into the apartment where they were originally heading.
Seay was not coherent and complained of severe pain through out his right side.
EMS took Seay to the hospital where he stayed Sunday night and was released on Monday afternoon.
Seay who is a point guard on the West Ashley high school basketball team was given a clean bill of health.
He has wounds on his right shoulder where the lightning may have entered and on his elbow where it exited.
Seay credits Rodriguez for saving his life. |
| 06/14/2009 12:00 PM Injured |
Eric Brocklebank |
64.0 |
M |
Midland
UK |
|
cooking bangers |
|
Outside |
| Man hit by lightning in Nottingham whilst cooking sausages
Jun 14 2009 Sunday Mercury
A MAN hit by lightning at a Midland barbecue was left so shocked that all he could say was SAUSAGES.
Eric Brocklebank, from Nether Langwith, Nottinghamshire, spent two days in hospital after a bolt struck a fork he was using to turn the bangers on the BBQ.
The 64 year-old air cadet chief, who was at an RAF show with a group of youngsters, said: “There was a big flash and it came straight through the tent to the utensil I was holding and through my body, exiting through my right foot.
“I imagine it’s like a chicken in a microwave - it cooks you from the inside.
“It was like an implosion inside my body.
“There was so much pressure inside me I couldn’t see properly.
“I was told the only thing I could say as I was drifting in and out of consciousness was sausages.” |
| 06/14/2009 12:00 PM Injured |
Wendall Hansel |
0.0 |
M |
Bright In
USA |
|
leaning against truck |
|
Outside |
| A Bright, Indiana man escapes amazingly without any visible injuries after he was struck by lightning during Sunday afternoon's storms. Wendall Hansel shared his story with Local 12's Jessica Donnellon Sunday night.
Hansel says he heard the tornado sirens and went outside to put his boat away before the storm hit. The last thing he remembers is leaning up against his truck and looking up at the sky.
"The next thing I know I'm getting blown back off the truck. Large, white flash of light in my face, and I felt electricity go through my body. DID YOU HAVE A MOMENT WHEN YOU THOUGHT... Yeah, I looked at the drive and I thought my heart was going to stop because I could still feel electricity going through my body and out my hand."
The fire department is just down the street from Hansel's home so help arrived quickly. Hansel suffered no visible injuries from the strike. |
| 06/13/2009 12:00 PM Killed |
3 killed 1 injured |
0.0 |
M |
Felda Pasak Kota
|
|
in a hut |
|
|
| JOHOR BAHRU, Sun:
Three of seven people believed to be high on drugs were killed in a lightning strike on a hut at an oil palm estate in Felda Pasak near Kota Tinggi yesterday, police said.
One of the others was injured while three were unhurt in the incident which happened at about 6pm during heavy rain, Kota Tinggi police chief Supt Osman Mohamed Sebot said.
He identified the dead as Md Ehsan Harun, 58, Arif Abu Asa, 34, and Nordin Mohamed, 45.
Osman said all the seven people had records of drug abuse and police were looking for the three who had fled the scene.
The bodies of the dead men were sent to the Kota Tinggi Hospital where the injured person had also been admitted, he added. -- Bernama |
| 06/13/2009 12:00 PM Killed |
2 dead 1 injures |
0.0 |
U |
China |
|
on great wall of china |
|
Outside |
| Couple hit by lightning, killed
Article from: Agence France-PresseFont size:DecreaseIncreaseEmail article:EmailPrint article:Print
June 14, 2009 02:10pm
A YOUNG Chinese couple were killed by a lightning strike as they climbed a rugged part of the Great Wall near Beijing, state media have reported.
The two, both aged 27, were in a group of five visiting the Great Wall Saturday despite thunder and strong rainfall, the Beijing News reported.
When the couple were hit by the lightning they fell about 30 metres down a slope, and were dead before medical help arrived, according to the report, which said one of the other three was slightly injured.
Share this article |
| 06/13/2009 12:00 PM Killed |
couple killed |
0.0 |
M |
Beijing
China |
|
|
|
|
| Couple hit by lightning, killed
Article from: Agence France-Presse
Font size: Decrease Increase
Email article: Email
Print article: Print
June 14, 2009 02:10pm
A YOUNG Chinese couple were killed by a lightning strike as they climbed a rugged part of the Great Wall near Beijing, state media have reported.
The two, both aged 27, were in a group of five visiting the Great Wall Saturday despite thunder and strong rainfall, the Beijing News reported.
When the couple were hit by the lightning they fell about 30 metres down a slope, and were dead before medical help arrived, according to the report, which said one of the other three was slightly injured. |
| 06/12/2009 12:00 PM Injured |
Jeannie Johnson |
48.0 |
F |
Redding Co
USA |
|
in carport with her dog |
|
Outside |
| Woman survives lightning strike in wild Redding thunderstorm
By Dylan Darling (Contact)
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Photo by Dylan Darling / Record Searchlight
Redding Electric Utility workers Mark Johnson, in bucket, and Scott Cox prepare to install a new transformer to replace one damaged in Friday’s thunderstorm. The employees worked Saturday on Almond Avenue across the street from where Jeannie Johnson was hit by lightning.
Photo by Dylan Darling / Record Searchlight
Jeannie Johnson
Weather information
Latest road conditions
Traffic cameras
Public safety scanners
Additional weather information
Traffic and fire advisories
Chains control map
Emergency preparedness & response for winter weather
STORY TOOLS
E-mail story
Comments
iPod friendly
Printer friendly
News alerts
Subscribe to the paper
Submit a news tip
MORE LOCAL NEWS
CHP Chat: Good ol' days of no seatbelts weren't all that great
Energy fair shows ways to conserve
Today in History: June 14, 2009
SHARE THIS STORY [?]
A Redding woman who thought she was a safe distance from lightning in Friday night's wild thunderstorm wound up getting zapped by a bolt of electricity.
Lightning hit at least two other spots in Redding during the intense storm that caused power outages and swamped parts of Redding with the heavy downpour.
Lightning struck 48-year-old Jeannie Johnson while she was in her carport to take her dog outside. She spent several hours in the hospital afterward and was resting at home Saturday and staying off her feet.
Johnson said she counted the seconds between a lightning flash and the rumble of thunder before leaving her door about 10 p.m.
"I counted to 11 so I figured it's 10, 11 miles away," she said.
As she walked out with Stolo, her 10-year-old pit bull, lightning hit an old metal television antenna at the back of her rental home in the 1400 block of Almond Avenue. Another fork of the bolt hit an open field across from the home. In between was Johnson, who said she saw a flash of light and heard a pop as loud as an M-80 firecracker as a wave of electricity swept over her.
"It burnt the hair off my arms," she said.
It also left a burn mark on her foot, pain in her right side and her ankle swollen. She spent two hours at Mercy Medical Center in Redding late Friday and early Saturday for evaluation.
Doctors were unclear how many volts of electricity passed through her body and what the long-term impact may be. A note on her bedside Saturday told her to see her doctor in a week for a checkup.
Johnson said Stolo also was hit by the electrical wave but didn't seem to be showing any ill effects Saturday - a day he spent mostly in bed next to her.
Outdoor light bulbs, including tiny ones in a string of holiday lights, burst as electricity surged over the home Friday night. The lightning also scorched a telephone box and fried wires.
"It was one big boom," said Josh Jansen, 25, one of Johnson's roommates. "It sounded like a bomb went off."
Friday's lightning left Johnson's household and about 60 other customers without electricity.
Power remained out Saturday evening for eight customers while REU crews repaired damaged transformers, REU Director Paul Hauser said. The storm took out eight transformers around the city, he said. Crews replaced four transformers by 1:30 p.m. Saturday, still had the other four to fix and put new fuses in about a half-dozen others, Hauser said.
"Given the lightning that we had, it was surprising that we didn't have more transformers fail," he said.
Each transformer costs about $1,000, and the cost of labor to replace them can be as much as $2,000, he said.
Two other lightning strikes were reported in Redding at the height of Friday night's storm, one that hit Shasta County Juvenile Hall on Radio Lane and another that penetrated the wall of a small building on Seneca Court, Redding fire Battalion Chief Gerry Gray said.
No one was injured in either of those two lightning strikes, Gray said.
The strike on the west side of juvenile hall disabled fire alarms, electronically-controlled gates and doors, and the security-camera system, said Brian Richart, Shasta County's probation chief.
"We're pretty sure the lightning barbecued some wires underground," he said.
Fire alarms for the inmates' rooms were fixed after midnight Saturday, but officers are using keys for doors until the complete damage can be assessed Monday, Richart said.
Surprisingly, juvenile hall didn't lose its power, he said.
Meanwhile, flooding from the thunderstorm shut down the slow lane of Highway 273 near South Bonnyview Road and left parts of south-central Redding inundated with water Friday night.
Between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m., roughly the time of the storm, the Redding Fire Department received 15 calls for emergencies - many possible structure fires because of lightning - Battalion Chief Shane Lauderdale said.
"Whenever we have a severe weather event like that, our units are taxed," he said.
Lauderdale said lightning damaged some homes, but there were no major fires.
Rain from the storm measured 0.58 of an inch at Redding Municipal Airport while about 350 lightning strikes were recorded in the Redding area.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection didn't have any fires to fight from the storm because the lightning was accompanied by lots of rain, a Cal Fire spokeswoman said.
Johnnie Powell, a forecaster at the National Weather Service's Sacramento office, agreed the thunderstorm and accompanying light show was intense, "but not unheard of."
"This one just happened to be over Redding," he said.
Reporter Dylan Darling can be reached at 225-8266 or ddarling@redding.com.
Assistant City Editor Mike Chapman contributed to this report.
Jea |
| 06/11/2009 03:27 AM Injured |
Kelly Blankenship 2 of 2 |
0.0 |
F |
Indianapolis In
USA |
|
walking to car to get out of rain |
N/A |
Camping,Outside,Taking Shelter,Walking,Walking to Vehicle |
| Lightning that killed boy was like 'an atomic bomb'
By Amanda Hamon
Posted: June 14, 2009
E-mail
Print
Share
A
A
Kelly Blankenship and Jeremiah Miller were just steps from the safety of waiting cars as the thunderstorm closed in.
Two of Blankenship's kids and her husband had just slid inside their Grand Prix.
Then she heard what seemed like the blast of a train roaring through the early morning darkness.
"Something was blowing me back, and I was trying as hard as I could to stand up. I couldn't stand up," said Blankenship, 32. "Imagine an atomic bomb hitting, and you were in the middle of it."
She was struck Thursday morning by the same bolt of lightning that killed 10-year-old Jeremiah, a searing blast that burned her arms and legs, left her feet swollen and broke a tooth as it exited her mouth.
But in the urgency of the race to try to save Jeremiah, Blankenship disregarded her injuries. Only later, after the ambulance with the boy inside pulled away from Mike's Southport Fishing Lakes, did she stop to consider she was hurt.
The Blankenships were part of a group, including Jeremiah and his father, 26-year-old Jeremy Miller, that arrived around 7:30 p.m. Thursday for some nighttime fishing. With school out, it was the kind of cheap entertainment a family can look forward to even in a bad economy.
They had no idea storms were in the forecast, and they stayed up late fishing.
So the group was still fishing when it began sprinkling around 3:30 a.m., Kelly's husband, Tom Blankenship, said. They sought refuge in a tent, but then the thunder and torrential downpour began, and they dashed for the cars.
That's when a bolt of forked lightning hit Jeremiah, traveled through Blankenship and slammed into a parked Mitsubishi Gallant, frying its electrical components.
The lightning knocked Blankenship unconscious. When she came to, her frantic husband cradled her in his arms. She couldn't see, hear or say anything.
But she soon regained her senses and helped her husband bring Jeremiah into their Grand Prix, where the couple performed CPR on him until an ambulance arrived.
Although they knew that she, too, had been hurt, the group didn't report Blankenship's injuries when Perry Township EMTs arrived in a single ambulance.
Instead, Tom Blankenship drove his wife to Methodist Hospital, where she was treated for four hours. Doctors told her the bolt entered through her foot and blasted out of her mouth.
Like her, most people struck by lightning do survive, but the injuries can be slow to fully surface and slow to heal. Her legs bear the tracing of a fernlike burn often left by lightning.
But her grief remains focused on the Miller family and the death of Jeremiah, whose funeral is Monday. Her kids went to school with him.
"If he would have made it to the car, this might not have happened," Blankenship said. "He was so close to the car."
• Call Star reporter Amanda Hamon at (317) 444-6705. |
| 06/11/2009 04:10 PM Killed |
Alain Hyppolite |
0.0 |
M |
Spring Lake Golf Course Fl
USA |
|
playing golf on 18th hole |
N/A |
Cardiac Arrest,Delayed Death,Golf Course,Outside |
| UPDATE: Lightning strike victim said to have died
ADVERTISEMENT
By BRAD DICKERSON
Highlands Today
Published: June 11, 2009
Updated: 06/11/2009 05:27 pm
SEBRING - Unconfirmed reports indicate that Alain Hyppolite, the West Palm Beach resident who was struck by lightning Thursday at Spring Lake Golf Resort, has died.
Representatives from Tampa General Hospital, where Hyppolite was later flown, could not be reached for confirmation. However, Beth Spikes, general manager at Spring Lake, said someone at the resort had spoken to a person at the hospital who informed them of the victim's passing.
Emergency personnel responded to Spring Lake Golf Resort shortly after 4 p.m., Thursday after Hyppolite was struck by lightning on the 18th hole.
Lorida Fire Department Chief Swen Swenson said the victim was first taken to Highlands Regional Medical Center. Paramedics were still performing CPR en route to the hospital.
Swenson added that there was a small fire in a tree Hyppolite had been near.
Highlands Today reporter Brad Dickerson can be reached at 863-386-5838 or bdickerson@highlandstoday.com.
SEBRING - A West Palm Beach man reportedly has died after being struck by lightning Thursday at the Spring Lake Golf Resort.
Beth Spikes, general manager at Spring Lake, said Alain Hyppolite, a resident of the West Palm Beach area, was at the resort with others for a weekend golf outing. She thinks he was in his 30s.
About 10 minutes after 4 Thursday afternoon, dispatchers received a call that Hyppolite had been struck by lightning on the 18th hole. Spikes said the accident happened suddenly, as it had not been raining or storming.
"Just out of the blue, a bolt of lightning hit a tree and then it ran through the ground to his golf club," she said.
A man golfing on a nearby hole and a kitchen manager started performing CPR while waiting for EMS to arrive, according to Spikes. Three ambulances and paramedics came to offer aid to the injured golfer.
After EMS arrived, the pulse was lost, Spikes said. Paramedics continued performing CPR on Hyppolite as he was taken to Highlands Regional Medical Center.
Hyppolite was later airlifted to Tampa General Hospital, where he remained in critical condition Friday afternoon but reports started filtering in that he had died. The hospital would not comment on his condition.
There was some confusion on the victim's first name. Spikes said he was registered as Alain, but hospital staff had him listed under a different name.
Lorida Fire Department Chief Swen Swenson said firefighters extinguished a small fire in the tree the lightning initially struck.
Highlands Today reporter Brad Dickerson can be reached at 863-386-5838 or bdickerson@highlandstoday.com.
|
| 06/11/2009 03:27 PM Killed |
Jeremiah Miller 1 of 2 |
0.0 |
M |
Indianapolis In
USA |
am not pm |
walking to car to get out of rain |
N/A |
Camping,Outside,Raining,Walking,Walking to Vehicle |
| INDIANAPOLIS - A ten-year-old boy was killed by a lightning strike during an early morning thunderstorm on the Southwestside.
Jeremiah Miller, 4200 block of East Naomi Street, was declared dead at Community Hospital South, according to a report from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.
The report said that Jeremy Miller, 26, and his son Jeremiah were camping at Mike’s Southport Fishing Lakes, 4141 W. Southport Rd. When the storm started at 3:27 a.m., father and son were walking to their car to get out of the rain when the lightning struck Jeremiah.
The boy was not responsive after the strike and paramedics were called. Perry Township EMT’s administered CPR and then sent the boy to the hospital where he was declared dead.
The lightning strike happened at the height of a morning thunderstorm that dropped 2.23 inches of rain on Indianapolis. |
| 06/10/2009 12:00 PM unknown |
lightning detector |
0.0 |
U |
North Liberty Ia
USA |
|
thunderbolt |
|
Education |
| NORTH LIBERTY - The North Liberty Youth Baseball and Softball (NYLBS) league has taken a number of steps in recent years to increase the safety of all who attend the games. This season, the league has a new tool designed to prevent tragedy: a lightning detector designed to warn of an approaching storm.
According to North Liberty Fire Department (NLFD) Chief Eric Vandewater, the detector is able to detect lightning up to 80 miles away, but is set to a 20-mile radius. When lightning is detected, the device sounds an alarm. Games are then delayed for 20 minutes. According to the NLYBS disaster plan, if lightning is seen within the first 10 minutes, or the detector sounds again, the game is called. Vandewater said the detector gives the distance of the lightning and is able to give the estimated time of arrival (ETA) for the storm cell. It also gives an estimated time until the storm clears the area and will sound an "all-clear" after the risk of lightning has completely passed.
While thunderstorms are a common occurrence, with obvious hazards such as tornadoes, hail, high winds, and flooding, lightning is often overlooked as a life-threat. Statistics vary, but on average, between 70 and 100 people are killed each year by lightning with roughly 300 injured. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), lightning often kills more than hurricanes and tornadoes in a typical year. Most deaths are due to sudden cardiac arrest. For survivors of a lightning strike, a multitude of life-long ailments and disability are the norm, including: memory loss, attention deficits, sleep disorders, numbness, dizziness, stiffness in the joints, fatigue, weakness, muscle spasms, depression, irritability, and an inability to sit for long periods.
NOAA and the National Weather Service (NWS) are especially concerned by what they call a "bolt from the blue," or a lightning strike out of a clear blue sky. NOAA reports a bicycle rider was hit in the head by lightning under fair weather conditions and a clear sky. Investigation determined the storm itself was a little over seven miles away. Bolts from the blue have also been determined to have traveled more than 25 miles from the parent cloud to the ground.
Chief Vandewater said the detector is the latest in a series of safety improvements made by NLYBS. The Chief said it all started when firefighters in the bleachers spotted funnel clouds during a game a few years ago.
"At that time, the league had no plan, nothing. Everybody just scrambled," Vandewater said. After funnels were spotted again, it was clear something had to be done in the name of safety. The league wrote a comprehensive disaster plan, including instructions for lightning, thunderstorms, tornadoes, and fire.
"I'm impressed with the plan they've come up with," Vandewater said. "They're hard to write, hard to implement, and hard to get 'buy-in' from everybody affected," he added. Vandewater noted the disaster plan is still a work in-progress, but praised the league for being very cooperative.
The Johnson County Emergency Management Agency donated a weather radio to the league to give everybody a "heads-up" on severe weather warnings.
The Fire Department purchased the detector, a Thunder Bolt Storm Detector manufactured by Spectrum Electronics, for roughly $400 and loaned it to the league. The detector was paid for out of donations made to the department's Benevolent Fund.
"It was a good way for us to give back to the community," Vandewater said. "We saw an opportunity to help the baseball and softball teams" The Chief also pointed out the department places as much emphasis on prevention and education as it does fire suppression and Emergency Medical Services (EMS).
"We'd rather try to prevent a tragedy than have to respond," Vandewater added. |
| 06/10/2009 12:00 PM Injured |
man |
0.0 |
M |
Dalton Tn
USA |
|
|
|
|
| 6/11/09 Man Struck By Lightning in Dalton.
Submitted by Brian Smith on June 11, 2009 - 9:59am. Weather
According to the National Weather Service, a Whitfield County, GA man was struck by lightning near Dalton. The extent of his injuries are uknown. The strike occured around 2pm yesterday, the same time that reports of a house in the Pleasant Grove Community was struck.
click here for the actual reports: |
| 06/10/2009 11:30 AM Killed |
Brian Larsh |
44.0 |
M |
Shelbyville Ky
USA |
|
waiting under tree |
N/A |
Cardiac Arrest,CPR,Critical,Delayed Death,Outside,Tree,Under Trees |
| Shelbyville man struck by lightning
06:04 PM EDT on Wednesday, June 10, 2009
(WHAS11) - A Shelbyville man is in critical condition Wednesday after being struck by lightning during storms.
Shelby County EMS says it received a 911 call around 11:30 a.m. Wednesday morning and found the man at Shelby Industries.
According to David Allen, VP of Shelby Industries, employee Brian Larsh stepped out of the plant on his lunch break and was waiting outside, under a tree, for his daughter to pick him up at the time of the strike. Fellow employees rushed to his aid after he fell to the ground and administered CPR.
Larsh was rushed to Jewish Hospital in Shelbyville where the county coronor confirmed that lightning struck the cell phone in his pocket, causing the injuries. Larsh was then transferred to Jewish Hospital in Louisville in intensive care.
He's in critical condition and EMS says his injuries are life-threatening.
28 people died in 2008 of lightning strikes in the United States and there have been 10 others so far this year.
The odds of being struck by lightning vary depending on geographical location, climate, and personal hobbies but average about 1 in 600,000.
Taylorsville man struck by lightning remains in critical condition
07:20 PM EDT on Thursday, June 11, 2009
(WHAS11) - A 44-year-old Taylorsville man remains in critical condition after being struck by lightning.
Watch this story
His family and co-workers are talking about how he was found and how he was helped in the moments after being struck.
Scottie Wooten, a co-worker of the victim, and Brian Larsh say that when they went outside yesterday during their lunch break, he ran to his car and Larsh ran under a 50 foot tree in front of the plant. Wooten says he drove away for his break. A few seconds later, he and others believe Larsh was struck. Larsh’s daughter pulled up in a car a moment later and saw her father face down on the rain soaked grass beneath the tree. According to a relative the 16 year old then turned him over and said, “He wasn’t breathing and his face was blue.”
She screamed and co-workers and managers rushed to the scene. Manager Doug Bailey said Larsh “was unconscious and wasn’t breathing and workers immediately began CPR.”
Bailey said there were no visible injuries and while they thought it might have been lightning, they weren’t sure and thought Larsh may have had a heart attack. Larsh’s 17-year-old daughter Kieara said Larsh only has a couple of small burns on his neck, and a burn on his leg where his cell phone had been in his pocket. Kieara says the phone was blown into several pieces. Larsh was taken first to a hospital in Shelbyville and then to Jewish Hospital in Louisville.
Wooten says when he came back from his break Larsh was already gone. Co-workers told him what had happened during the 30 minutes he was gone. Wooten says he felt sick that he had left when his co-worker and friend needed him. “It hurt me. It made me feel how precious life really is, ” Wooten later recalled.
Get More
Shelbyville man struck by lightning
Kieara Larsh said her father is “unconscious, but stable.” Larsh wiped away tears as she talked about him and the incident at a news conference. She says it could be another 72 hours before they know just how seriously her father was hurt by the lightning. And she asked for everyone to “ . . . just pray for him.”
Larsh moved to Kentucky two years ago from Michigan. He had worked at the Shelbyville plant until March when he and others were temporarily laid off. A co-worker says he and Larsh had come back to work just two days before he was struck by the lightning.
|
| 06/09/2009 12:00 PM Injured |
person |
0.0 |
M |
Philadelphia Pa
USA |
|
standing outside |
|
Outside |
| y VICKY THOMAS
vthomas@delcotimes.com
Click to enlarge
Severe thunderstorms rolled through Delaware County and the surrounding Philadelphia region Tuesday morning, with lightning bolts striking by the hundreds and heavy rain causing pockets of high water.
The National Weather Service in Mount Holly, N.J., issued a flash-flood warning in Delaware County and a tornado warning for Chester County Tuesday afternoon, as it forecasted an encore of severe weather in the evening.
The NWS said more than 1,000 lightning strikes were detected in the Philadelphia area Tuesday morning.
One person was hospitalized after a lightning bolt struck near where he was standing, said a Taylor Hospital spokeswoman. The man was not struck, but was admitted and listed in stable condition.
The storms brought heavy rain down on the county, with reports of an inch of rain falling in only 20 minutes in the Drexel Hill section of Upper Darby before 8 a.m. Tuesday.
Dime- to nickel-sized hail was also reported around the Philadelphia region, according to the NWS.
Flooding blocked a portion of the Route 102 trolley line between the Sharon Hill and Collingdale stops during the morning commute. A shuttle bus transported passengers around the flood area after 8 a.m. until it was cleared about 9:30, said SEPTA spokeswoman Sylvana Hoyos.
PennDOT spokesman Gene Blaum said the only major closure from the morning storm was in Philadelphia, where the 26th Street underpass of the Schuylkill Expressway was closed for less than an hour because of high water.
In Delaware County, Blaum said a downed tree was removed at Dutton Mill and Creek roads in Middletown because it was restricting traffic.
“We had several downed trees, but none were bothersome enough to close the roadway,” said Blaum, adding the trees avoided toppling electric poles.
There was also damage to the shoulder of Old State Road in Marple, he said.
PennDOT crews were sent to clear drains of any debris in advance of more storms that were expected to roll through the county Tuesday night.
“We wanted to make sure the drains were open and nothing was blocking the path of water,” said Blaum.
Peco spokeswoman Cathy Engle said there were scattered outages throughout the region after the morning storm. She said Peco activated the company’s emergency response center to brace for more severe weather anticipated in the area later Tuesday.
“We’re tracking this weather forecast very closely,” said Engle.
Engle said it’s customary to activate the emergency response center when severe weather is forecasted and could potentially disrupt service.
Outages, downed power lines or damaged equipment can be reported to Peco’s emergency line by calling 800-841-4141. |
| 06/08/2009 02:00 PM Killed |
Dessalines Oleus |
53.0 |
M |
Pompano Beach Fl
USA |
|
mowing the lawn |
N/A |
Mowing the lawn,Outside,Raining,Wet,Yard |
| Lightning kills man cutting grass in Coral Springs
Victim identified as Dessalines Oleus, 53, of Pompano Beach
By Erika Pesantes, Rafael Olmeda and Robert Nolin South Florida Sun Sentinel
7:22 PM EDT, June 8, 2009
Coral Springs police cordon off the area at the intersection of Riverside Dr. And NW 40 St, where a member of a landscaping crew was struck by lightning and killed Monday afternoon. (Robert Duyos, Sun Sentinel / June 8, 2009)
POMPANO BEACH - Grieving family and friends gathered at Dessalines Oleus' apartment and sang Creole church hymns a day after a bolt of lightning took his life.
The 53-year-old Pompano Beach man's sudden death left his wife, pregnant daughter and two adult sons wondering what they'll do next.
Oleus was a loving father who loved to cook and supported the whole family, said his daughter Agladia Oleus, 24.
"We're so proud of him, even though he's not here anymore," she said Tuesday afternoon.
Related links
Lightning Season across South Florida Photos
Lightning has killed 7 since 2001 in South Florida
Learn how lightning strikes and how it forms. Multimedia
Lightning safety tips
Lightning struck – they survived. But they were never the same
Rainy season just keeps getting wetter
Oleus, who couldn't find work as a radio reporter in Haiti, came to South Florida to make a better life for himself and his family 17 years ago, said his son Jeanfenel Oleus. His family joined him in South Florida three years ago.
Dessalines Oleus was trying to squeeze in a few more minutes of grass cutting in the rain Monday when lightning hit him in front of an apartment building on the 7800 block of Northwest 40th Street in Coral Springs.
Jeanfenel Oleus, 18, described his father as hard-working and generous. He was getting to know him better after having lived most of his life away from him in Haiti.
The other brother is 20.
Jean Paul Christopher, who owns the landscaping company that Oleus worked for, told WFOR-Ch.4 that Oleus was like a father to him.
Christopher said he was working with Oleus on Monday and was about to tell him to stop cutting the grass when the lightning struck. It was shortly after 2 p.m., a witness said.
"When I try to go up front, I see him laying down," Christopher said. "When I try to turn him over, I keep calling but ..."
"It was something that happened in just a moment," said Ana Markland, one of the building's residents.
The fatality came as an intense thunderstorm ripped across west Broward County, producing hail and lightning, the National Weather Service said.
Another bolt from Monday's storm sparked a blaze that threatened children at a two-story home in the 1700 block of Primrose Drive in Weston.
Homeowner Ken Bank was in his car in the driveway outside, waiting for the rain to slacken so he could dash inside without getting wet. In the house were his three children and their baby-sitter, who was unaware the father was so close.
The sitter called Bank to say she thought lightning had hit the structure and that the power was out. Bank ran inside. Smoke alarms were sounding and he could smell smoke. All five evacuated. No one was hurt.
Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue doused the blaze.
The weather service is predicting a more active rainy season than normal, at least through August, and Monday's storm followed several days of violent rainstorms across the region. Forecasters predict that trend will continue throughout the rainy season, which ends in October.
The weather service estimates there are about 1.5 million lightning strikes a year in Florida, most during rainy season.
On average, lightning is responsible for more deaths in Florida than all other weather hazards combined, outpacing hurricanes and tornadoes, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.
Florida has the highest number of lightning casualties of all 50 states.
Oleus was the first lightning fatality of the year in Broward. Last year there were 11 lightning-related injuries in South Florida but no fatalities. In 2007, there were two lightning deaths in Broward and one in Palm Beach County.
The weather service estimates lightning causes about 70 deaths a year nationally. Only about one in 10 people who are struck are killed, the weather service said, and chances of a person being struck by lightning in any given year are one in 700,000.
Staff Writer Lisa Huriash and Researcher Barbara Hijeck contributed to this report.
Alexia Campbell can be reached at apcampbell@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4513. |
| 06/08/2009 12:00 PM Killed |
Donald Lynch |
65.0 |
M |
Fairview NC
USA |
|
clearing brush in field near his house |
|
Field,Outside |
| Lightning strikes, kills Fairview man
More thunderstorms expected this week
By Sabian Warren
and Mike McWilliams • June 10, 2009 10:32 AM
Print this page
E-mail this article
Share
FAIRVIEW A violent thunderstorm that dumped 2 inches of rain in Fairview and led to the death of a man struck by lightning emerged within minutes of a storm warning.
National Weather Service John Tomko said Tuesday the storm came up quickly, bringing nickel- to quarter-size hail. More thunderstorms are expected through the week.
A lightning strike from the Monday storm killed a man clearing brush in a field near his home. The body of Donald Michael Lynch, 65, was found about 6 p.m. off U.S. 74-A near Smith Farms, Buncombe County Sheriff's Department Lt. Ross Dillingham said.
Family members had reported Lynch missing, Dillingham said.
Evidence at the scene led investigators to suspect a lightning strike, he said. A medical examiner at Mission Hospital later confirmed Lynch died from being struck by lightning.
The storm began sometime shortly after 4:30 p.m. and lasted until about 6:30 p.m., Fairview Fire Department Chief Scott Jones said.
“We took a terrible storm out here,” Jones said. “There was lightning every 10 seconds.”
The weather service put out a severe thunderstorm warning about 4:35 p.m. Monday for penny-size hail and damaging winds. Hail was reported in Fairview at 4:46 p.m., Tomko said.
The lighting strike that killed Lynch took place after the thunderstorm warning expired about 5:30 p.m.
Another storm cell in the Fletcher area also produced 2-3 inches of rain at about the same time.
Some lightning safety tips from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration:
• Use the 30-30 Rule. If the time between lightning and thunder is 30 seconds or less, go to a safer location. Wait at least 30 minutes after hearing the last thunder.
• The top places for lightning causalities are open fields, high ground and under trees, or other tall, isolated objects.
• Find shelter in a substantial building or fully enclosed vehicle. Canopies and picnic shelters are not safe enough.
|
| 06/07/2009 05:30 PM Injured |
Gabriel Neal (father) 1 of 2 |
40.0 |
M |
Harrisonville Lake Mo
USA |
|
fishing in a boat |
|
Boat,fishing,Outside |
| Father, Son Struck By Lightning
Fishermen Assist Rescue Crew In Getting Men Off Lake
POSTED: 10:18 am CDT June 10, 2009
UPDATED: 10:49 am CDT June 10, 2009
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A man and his son were in a fishing boat on Sunday when they were struck by a bolt of lightning.
The two are recovering at Research Medical Center after Sunday's storm took them by surprise while they were on Harrisonville Lake.
Before ambulance crews could transport them, they had to get them off the lake, and it was a fellow fisherman who helped make that happen, they said.
Pleasant Hill Fire and Rescue, with no boat of their own, got the call at 5:30 p.m. Sunday that two men had been struck by lightning on the lake.
"One gentleman was actually thrown from the boat," said Assistant Chief Steve Long. "Twenty years, and it's the first time I've seen it."
A pair of fishermen at the boat ramp lowered their boat into the water as the clouds hung overhead, and brought rescue workers on board.
"Two of our paramedics went out there and actually started treatment on their way in, while their boat was being towed in," said Long.
The 40-year-old father had made it back into the boat by the time they arrived. But he and his 17-year-old son were all the way around a cove, half a mile from shore.
"It was very fortunate that there was other people there with a boat that could get us out to them," said Long.
The assistant fire chief said the boat had a black spot where the lightning struck.
"At the time they were thinking it might have hit one of their fishing rods," he said.
The two men both had second-degree burns.
"Most likely it was from the flash of the heat of the lightning hitting the boat," Long said. "These guys will survive to tell their grandchildren about it. They're very lucky."
Research Medical Center staff said the father, Gabriel Neal, is in good condition. His son, Christian, is in fair condition.
Copyright 2009 by KCTV5.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
| 06/07/2009 05:30 PM Injured |
Christian Neal (son) 2 of 2 |
17.0 |
M |
Harrisonville Lake Mo
USA |
|
fishing in a boat |
N/A |
Boat,fishing,On Water,Outside,Water |
| Fishermen Survive Lightning Strike
War Veteran Saves Father, Son From Drowning
POSTED: 9:18 pm CDT June 11, 2009
UPDATED: 11:48 pm CDT June 11, 2009
LAKE HARRISONVILLE, Mo. -- A father and son out fishing were struck by lightning, and they lived to tell the story.
Jim Flink/KMBC
Gabe Neal with his custom graphite rod that was frayed by lightning.
A disabled veteran rescued the pair.
Gabe Neal and his 17-year-old son, Christian Neal, thought the risk of severe weather had passed on Sunday night when they headed out onto Lake Harrisonville.
"Lightning hit and it was about four seconds, and I thought, 'That's pretty close,'" Gabe Neal told KMBC's Jim Flink.
Seconds later, they found out just how close it was.
Images: Fishermen Survive Lightning Strike
"About the best way I could describe it is if someone hit you in the chest with a sledgehammer," Gabe Neal said. "And I was in the water immediately -- 'boom' and in the water."
"And I felt like someone had just beat me and lit me on fire," Christian Neal said. "I was paralyzed from the waist down. I couldn't move my legs or my toes or anything else."
"Immediately I realized my legs would not work, and it felt like they had been blown off. That was a pretty dark moment," Gabe Neal said. "I remember praying, saying, 'God, if I've done anything wrong, please forgive me.'"
Jim Flink/KMBC
Christian and Gabe Neal
"When I came to, someone was pouring water on me, and that was Andrew," Christian Neal said.
Disabled Iraq war veteran Andy Flippin had been fishing a few yards away with his girlfriend and father.
"I just heard this loud crack," Flippin said.
He said his Army combat training kicked in and he raced over to help.
"As I got to (Gabe), he was getting ready to drown," Flippin said. "Then I went to Christian, who was still smoldering, and I dumped some water on him to put his hair out. I could tell he was the one who took the main hit from the lightning."
"My heartbeat was so erratic, they said if they didn't do something, it would kill me," Christian Neal said.
Paramedics arrived just in time.
"Staff at the hospital told us, 'We're just going by trial and error,' and that took me by surprise. I said, 'Why?' They said, 'We just don't treat very many lightning victims,'" Gabe Neal said.
That's because people hit by lightning usually don't survive.
"God led us all in the right steps. That's just all there was to it," Flippin said. Gabe and Christian Neal praised Flippin and the doctors who helped them. Both men are expected to fully recover.
Christian Neal has some scars, but those are expected to heal.
Gabe Neal, who makes fishing rods for a living, said he thinks his graphite rod served as a lightning rod. He thinks the lightning struck the rod first, instead of his son, and that may have saved his son's life.
Copyright 2009 by KMBC.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redist |
| 06/07/2009 12:00 PM Injured |
man |
0.0 |
M |
Bogus Basin Id
USA |
|
working on radio tower |
|
Outside |
| Worker injured by lightning at radio tower site
07:32 PM MDT on Monday, June 8, 2009
BOISE - Members of the Voice of Idaho Radio Club have been working at Shafter Butte near Bogus Basin, doing work on an amateur radio repeater.
Saturday, as an electrical storm moved in – lightning struck, injuring one man.
Tim Rynearson is a member of the club, but didn't go up this weekend.
"Apparently they had a thunderstorm roll through, and sounds like they had a proximity lightning strike and it apparently affected one of the guys that was working up there," said Tim Rynearson. "He was saying it felt like he was hit in the back of the head with a baseball bat.”
Rynearson says he and several members of his club are weather spotters for the Weather Service and know that in situations like this, safety is paramount.
He also said that where his friends were working is exactly the place they shouldn't have been in.
But tonight the weather proved to be deceiving.
"One of the things they were saying was that they were socked in by the clouds most of the weekend and they couldn't see anything that was coming at all," Rynearson said.
Rynearson says the man injured by lightning was able to drive home.
And from what we're told he also decided against going to the hospital. |
| 06/06/2009 12:00 PM unknown |
Joe Dwyer |
0.0 |
M |
USA |
|
science |
|
Education |
| June 9, 2009 -- A team of Florida researchers is testing a novel idea that radio waves dancing in particles created by cosmic rays can solve a long-standing mystery about what sparks lightning.
"How does lightning get started? How does it move around? All the basic questions have not been answered," said Joseph Dwyer, a professor of physics and space sciences at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Fla.
Rather than trying to measure electric fields within storms directly, the scientists are looking to measure how storms' electric fields alter cosmic ray particles that rain down from space and then pass through Earth's atmosphere.
Measurements of the electric fields inside clouds are difficult to make, though scientists have been trying for decades to fly instrumented aircraft and balloons into storms without much success.
Related Content:
Cosmic Conundrum Hits Close to Home
Lightning Helps Predict Hurricane Fury
HowStuffWorks.com: Lightning
More Discovery News
What information has been collected suggests that the electric fields aren't big enough to spark lightning, though it obviously occurs.
"It takes something like 30,000 volts per centimeter (of static electricity) to get a spark off your finger to a doorknob. That type of spark doesn't exist in thunderstorm electric fields, or we haven't been measuring in the right place," Martin Uman, director of University of Florida's Lighting Research Laboratory, told Discovery News.
The new technique, described in a recent paper in the Journal of Geophysical Research, bypasses the need to send sensors into stormy skies. Instead, Dwyer and colleagues use the naturally-occurring fallout from cosmic ray impacts on the atmosphere to remotely probe storms' electric fields.
This summer, instruments at the International Center for Lightning Research and Testing at Camp Blanding, Fla., include a particle detector and electric field antenna to study radio frequencies generated by cosmic rays passing through storms.
Cosmic rays, which are believed to spawned by distant supernova explosions, regularly , triggering cascades of high-energy particles and showers of secondary particles, including electrons, positrons and muons.
"By the time you get to the ground most of the particles that are left are muons," Dwyer said in an interview.
The theory is that as the particles pass through electric fields they would recharge themselves and create new particles.
"These look very different," Dwyer said. "We would see them in association with radio pulses, which are easier to measure."
The research also could prove or disprove a theory that bursts of cosmic rays striking the atmosphere could, in fact, be a lightning trigger.
"It's possible that if there was a big enough (cosmic ray) shower, it would initiate lightning," said Dwyer. "That would be a big surprise."
|
| 06/05/2009 12:00 PM Killed |
Efrain Trvizo-Molina |
21.0 |
M |
Greeley Co
USA |
|
in a field |
|
Field,Outside |
| Greeley Man Struck By Lightning, Dies Save Email Print
Posted: 10:38 PM Jun 6, 2009
Last Updated: 11:00 PM Jun 6, 2009
Reporter: Jason Aubry
Email Address: jaubry@kktv.com
0 comments
PLAY VIDEO: Stay Safe During Lightning Storms
A | A | A
It happens in less than a second, and lights up the sky. It is lightning, and it's the second largest weather related killer, taking more lives than tornadoes or hurricanes.
When it comes to lightning few places in the country see as much as our state. Sometimes, that lightning can be fatal, as it was for one man near Greeley Friday night. Authorities say Efrain Trevizo-Molina, 21, died after being struck in a field. The man was found by a hiker in Weld county this morning.
"Colorado is a wonderful place for recreation and of course when you're outside and exposed those are the types of situations that you may find yourself for a potential lightning strike," says Lieutenant Matthew Clark with the Colorado Springs Fire Department.
Clark says if you do get caught out and about seek shelter if you can. If you cannot, and start to feel an electric charge building around you; drop to the ground and curl up in a ball. Clark says, this may save your life.
If you're at home when lightning strikes, you should call 911 immediately. The fire department will come out and check your home for damage or fire. |
| 06/05/2009 04:30 PM Injured |
pregnant woman |
0.0 |
F |
Merritt Island Fl
USA |
|
riding in car |
|
In a Car or Vehicle |
| MERRITT ISLAND, Fla. -- A pregnant woman was injured Friday afternoon after being struck by lightning.
VIDEO: Woman Struck In Car
According to the Brevard County Fire Department, the woman was riding in a truck near State Road 520 and North Banana River Drive when she was hit by the bolt around 4:30 p.m. The impact knocked her across the cab of the truck into her mother.
Cindy Dabill said she was driving when her 21-year-old daughter was struck.
"It happens to everybody else, but not you. My kid has EDS as it is, so she's not in the best health as it is, and now she's fivemonths pregnant – I just hope her and the baby are ok," Dabill said.
Investigators said the victim, who is five months pregnant, was awake when paramedics arrived.
The victim was taken to Cape Canaveral Hospital. Her condition is unknown.
Copyright 2009 by Internet Broadcasting Systems and Local6.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
|
| 06/04/2009 12:00 PM Injured |
plumber |
47.0 |
M |
Apopka Fl
USA |
|
working on dishwasher |
|
Indirect,Indoors,Kitchen/Appliance |
| Plumber Injured By Lightning That Hit Nearby Water Main
Posted: 4:49 pm EDT June 4, 2009Updated: 6:31 pm EDT June 4, 2009
APOPKA, Fla. -- A man was injured by a lightning strike in Apopka Thursday afternoon. Eyewitness News learned that lightning hit a water main pipe near a home on Falconwood Court (see map).
The man and his son arrived at the home to install a dishwasher. An electrical current from the lightning traveled two blocks through the water line and shocked the 47-year-old plumber who was working on the dishwasher.
The homeowner said he went inside the kitchen to check on the man, who was conscious and asked the homeowner to check on his son. The son was ok, but when the homeowner returned to the kitchen, he found the plumber unconscious.
Officials say he was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center in stable condition. The plumber regained consciousness while he was on the stretcher en route to the hospital.
Officials have issued a boil water alert for the neighborhood.
Copyright 2009 by wftv.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
|
| 06/04/2009 04:08 PM Killed |
Isaias Lara-Martinez |
39.0 |
M |
Crystal Beach Tx
USA |
|
on beach |
|
Beach,Jogging / Running,Outside |
| Bolivar beach jogger possibly killed by lightning
By Chris Paschenko
The Daily News
Published June 5, 2009
CRYSTAL BEACH — A lightning strike is believed to have killed a man who was found dead on a Bolivar Peninsula beach, authorities said Thursday.
A passer-by found Isaias Lara-Martinez of Houston facedown on the sand in Crystal Beach at 4:08 p.m. Wednesday, said Maj. Ray Tuttoilmondo, a Galveston County Sheriff’s Office spokesman.
Lara-Martinez, who was believed to be between 38 and 40, had no wounds other than burns to his torso, Tuttoilmondo said.
A line of thunderstorms rolled through Galveston County on Wednesday afternoon, spawning lightning strikes.
“He was out for a jog in the thunderstorm,” Tuttoilmondo said. “His family said he was last seen about a half-hour before he was found. All indications are that it was a possible lightning strike.”
Lara-Martinez’s body was found just west of Alma Drive.
Sheriff’s office investigators are awaiting autopsy results from the Medical Examiner’s Office, Tuttoilmondo said.
|
| 06/03/2009 06:30 PM Injured |
2 of 2 boys |
12.0 |
M |
Spotsylvania Va
USA |
|
playing catch after game was called due to weather |
N/A |
Baseball or Softball,Cardiac Arrest,CPR,Critical,Little League,Outside |
| Lightning Kills Va. 12-Year-Old
VIDEO
Boy Playing Baseball Dies After Lightning Strike
A 12-year-old boy from Northern Virginia is dead after he was struck by lightning while playing baseball. Another 12-year-old was also struck and is in the hospital.
» LAUNCH VIDEO PLAYER
TOOLBOX
Resize Print E-mail
Yahoo! Buzz
COMMENT
24 Comments | View All »
POST A COMMENT
You must be logged in to leave a comment. Log in | Register
Why Do I Have to Log In Again?
Discussion Policy
WHO'S BLOGGING
» Links to this article
By Martin Weil
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, June 4, 2009
A 12-year-old boy was struck by lightning and killed yesterday evening while playing catch with another boy on a ballfield south of Fredericksburg in Spotsylvania County, authorities said.
The other boy was critically injured in the lightning strike, which came as powerful thunderstorms raked much of the Washington region with hail, gusts of wind and downpours that caused trees to topple and roads to flood in spots.
The 12-year-old, Chelal Matos of Spotsylvania County, was struck at 6:26 p.m., said 1st Sgt. Liz Scott of the county sheriff's department.
She said that because of the weather, umpires had called off a baseball game and ordered participants off the field, which is two or three miles east of Interstate 95 and just north of Route 17.
Scott said the boy and his 11-year-old teammate stayed on the field under parents' supervision.
The boys were taken to Mary Washington Hospital, where the older boy was pronounced dead.
The younger was transferred to a Richmond hospital in "very critical" condition, Scott said.
She said it appeared that the 12-year-old was struck directly and that the bolt might have jumped from him to the younger boy.
The incident came on a second night of powerful thunderstorms. |
Next 50 Records
Database Functions
List All Articles in DB - list all articles currently in database
Display Incident DB -- display the incidents
Login
|
 |
HOME | SERVICES | RESOURCES | SAFETY | ABOUT US | CONTACT
Struckbylightning.org, Inc. is a Massachusetts non-profit corporation, 501 (c)(3) organization.
Copyright © 2005-2009 Struckbylightning.org | 32 Jacqueline Circle, W. Yarmouth, MA 02673 | Phone: 508.364.4208 |
 |
|
|
|
