Lightning is a fascinating force of nature that can strike with deadly force. It is often referred to as a rare event, but on Earth it is very common, especially in Florida. In fact, Florida is the lightning capital of the U.S. (Melvin). However, even in Florida, the danger that lightning poses is underestimated. We take little precaution against the significant property damage, injury and death that it causes every year in Florida. We need to educate and motivate our citizens to take action to protect property and lives.
What exactly is lightning? Lightning is simply the transfer of static electricity from cloud-to-cloud or from cloud-to-ground. People are not usually concerned with cloud-to-cloud lightning because it generally only produces some spectacular visual displays and some intimidating but generally harmless thunder. In contrast, cloud-to-ground lightning frequently does a lot of damage. When lightning comes down from the clouds and hits the ground its electrical power can destroy things like homes, businesses, and forests. Worse yet its electrical power can even kill people. Luckily, the cloud-to-ground electrical displays are much less common than the cloud-to-cloud strikes.
Lightning is probably a much more common event than you think. For example, while only twenty percent of all lightning flashes each day are the more damaging cloud-to-ground type, that twenty percent still amounts to 1,600,000 ground strikes a day ("Lightning Master Corporation")! At any given moment, there are about 2000 thunderstorms in the world, that cause lightning (Byrne). These storms produce 100 lightning flashes per second, or about 8,000,000 lightning flashes per day ("Lightning").
Do you think tornadoes, hurricanes and floods are dangerous? Many people fear those weather events but think nothing of walking in a thunderstorm. Well, lightning causes more deaths in the United States than any other type of weather phenomenon ("National Lightning Safety Institute")! One thing that makes it so dangerous is that it is very powerful. It can heat the air up to 30,000 degrees at 100 million volts (Patty). It is also very unpredictable. Lightning can strike from up to 10 miles away, ("Lightning"). You can be standing outside on a clear day with only a few clouds and still be hit by lightning.
People are vulnerable to lightning. The chances of being struck in your lifetime are 1 in 600,000 ("Lightning"). Eighty to one-hundred people die each year because of lightning and about 300 are injured and have significant medical bills ("Thunderstorms and lightning… the Underrated Killers!"). You aren’t necessarily safe in your house, but it lowers your chances of being directly struck by lightning.
Although the death of people is much more tragic, property damage is more common and very expensive. Lightning costs five to six billion dollars every year to the U.S., and this number is growing every year ("National Lightning Safety Institute"). Also, 26,500 house fires occur because of lightning annually ("National Lightning Safety Institute"). Otherwise unnoticeable electrical fields produced by lightning also often damage delicate electrical equipment. Lightning is an extremely costly element of nature that we all pay for directly or indirectly as insurance premiums and taxes.
We have few defenses against lightning. One of the simplest and oldest is the lightning rod. Lightning rods are used to keep lightning away from structures by providing an alternative metal pathway to the ground for the lightning. This keeps the building from being directly damaged. Surge protectors are a more recent invention used to protect computers and expensive electronic equipment. Weather forecasts are another means of protecting people from lightning. They allow people to plan their day, so that they are not stuck out in a boat when a thunderstorm rolls in.
Amazingly, our defenses are quite inadequate. For example, lightning rods are rarely installed on homes. Additionally, they only protect structures, they do not protect electronic equipment inside ("Lightning Master Corporation"). Electrical equipment is damaged when lightning hits the ground and equalizes the charge at the point where it hits. Since the surrounding area remains charged ("Lightning Master Corporation") those charges from the surrounding area will flow to the point where the lightning struck ("Lightning Master Corporation"). This flow is similar to the EMP shock waves that a nuclear weapon creates, which can damage any nearby electronic equipment ("Lightning Master Corporation"). Because of this, lightning rods help, but are far from completely effective. Surge protectors are also only partially effective. Not all surge protectors have places to plug in phone lines. The surge protector for the power source will not save your computer when lightning hits the telephone wires. If your computer has a modem then the phone line needs to be protected by a surge protector or lightning will fry your computer ("Surges, Spikes, and Noise"). Weather reports are limited for two major reasons. One is that people who are outside and in danger rarely hear them. Secondly, people have very little fear of lightning and tend to ignore weather warnings. These things need to be improved.
It would be impossible to prevent lightning from striking ("National Lightning Safety Institute"). However, a good lightning protection system can help reduce the chances of a lightning strike at a protected area. It must have three parts. The three components, bonding/grounding, transient voltage surge suppression, and structural lightning protection, should be used for the best results ("Lightning Master Corporation"). Bonding occurs when you bring all of the electrical and metal masses to the same potential. This prevents people who are touching two pieces of equipment from being shocked and also protects equipment. Grounding is when you bring all of the electrical and metal masses to the same potential as the ground. Transient voltage surge suppression protects your equipment from electrical surges. Structural lightning protection is provided, in part, by a lightning rod. Its function is to keep the lightning from striking the building by giving it a path that is easier to travel. It also incorporates a system that uses streamer retarding technology that lowers the amount of static that builds up. This system dramatically lessens the probability that a building will be struck by lightning ("Lightning Master Corporation").
There are also many things that we can do to help make sure that people are safer from lightning. People must be educated about lightning, and should be prepared in case of conditions conducive to a strike. Commercials should be placed on TV to teach people about the true nature of lightning and how to avoid it. Warnings should be placed in locations where lightning strikes are frequent. For example, most people do not know that you are not supposed to talk on the phone at anytime that there is lightning in the area. Lightning can strike a telephone wire, follow it to their phone and electrocute them. Warning messages on TV could let people know this and allow them to take the proper safety precautions. In elementary schools, children should learn about lightning safety. This would give children an early knowledge of lightning. The government should also place warning signs in places where lightning strikes are probable. It would also help if there were some sort of audio alert. This would remind people that lightning is dangerous and that it shouldn’t be taken lightly. There should be city ordinances that require parks, commercial structures and industrial buildings to have structural lightning protection systems. Systems in outdoor recreational areas would help, since five percent of all lightning deaths occur on golf courses (Harig). People should be encouraged to install lightning protection for their homes. It is worth it, since putting a system on your house could save your entire house, as well as your life.
On a more personal level, there are many things that you can do to protect yourself. If you are ever out in the open and you see lightning, you should enter shelter immediately ("Thunderstorms and Lightning"). Never take shelter near trees or in small shed, especially a metal one ("Thunderstorms and Lightning"). If there is no other shelter near by, get into a car that has a metal roof rather than a cloth roof and roll up the windows ("National Lightning Safety Institute"). As a last resort, crouch down and cover your ears to keep your ear drums from being ruptured by the thunder ("National Lightning Safety Institute"). While inside your house, don’t use phones, and stay away from water ("Thunderstorms and Lightning"). Never take showers or baths anytime there is lightning. You should unplug important electrical devices to keep them safe from lightning ("Thunderstorms and Lightning"). It is also a good idea to bring your pets in, even though they are short and probably won’t be struck, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. Following these few lightning safety rules could save your life.
As time goes on we need to take steps to lower the damage caused by lightning otherwise the money and lives wasted will continue to increase. We must do something to stop this enigma from destroying homes and buildings, and from killing innocent people. A long time ago, when vacuum tubes were used instead of microchips, lightning was not as big a problem to electronic devices such as televisions ("Lightning Master Corporation"). As technology advances, electronic equipment will become more sensitive to lightning. The population will also increase, giving lightning more people to strike. With more people, more buildings will be constructed, which will be destroyed by lightning. We definitely need to do something about lightning.
Not many people are actually against lightning protection, although most people are subconsciously. People want to be protected from lightning, but do not want to follow lightning safety rules. If you are out playing golf and see lighting, chances are good that you won’t go running for shelter. You will tell yourself, "I’ll just finish this one game and then go in." It only takes a split second for lightning to strike you, kill you or impair you. Everyone hates it when they have to get out of the pool, because the lifeguard heard thunder or saw lighting. Most people do not realize that rules like these save peoples lives and could save theirs. Regulations like these must be implemented.
Lightning is not taken seriously enough. It is, in fact, the most dangerous weather phenomenon we face. In the United States alone, we suffer significant loss of buildings, equipment and lives each year due to lightning and do very little to prevent these loses. We must work to educate people about these dangers and effective methods of protecting themselves. Advertising campaigns and early education should be provided to motivate children and adults to take the needed actions to safeguard themselves and their property.
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