Lightning StrikeMedical Author:
Timothy Price, MD
Coauthor:
Sandra Wendel
Medical Editor:
Scott H Plantz, MD, FAAEM
Medical Editor:
Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD
Medical Editor:
Richard Harrigan, MD
Lightning Strike OverviewLightning strikes are weather-related medical emergencies. Lightning is consistently among the top 4 weather-related killers. In typical years, lightning kills more people in the United States than any other natural disaster (with the exception of flash floods), including tornadoes. The National Weather Service reports more than 3,000 deaths a year from cardiac arrest related to lightning strikes. There are 4-5 times as many people injured. Most people killed or injured by lightning are outside doing recreational activities such as fishing, boating, swimming, or playing sports. Others are working outdoors at construction jobs. Farmers are often struck, too. |
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Lightning Injuries »
Over the last century, records for environmental injuries and mortality indicate that lightning has consistently been one of the top 3 environment-related causes of death and the second most common storm-related cause of death, exceeded only by flash floods.
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