**** Info via Environment Canada
When thunder roars, go indoors!
This week is Canada’s Lightning Safety Awareness Week, which always takes place during the third week of June. It aims to educate and raise awareness about the danger of lightning to lower the number of deaths and injuries caused yearly by lightning strikes.
You can avoid these kinds of tragedies by taking a few simple precautions. When a lightning storm is approaching, seek safe shelter immediately. Safe shelters are buildings with electricity and plumbing or metal-topped vehicles with windows closed. Picnic shelters, dugouts and small buildings without plumbing or electricity are not safe.
Getting inside a home or substantial building during a thunderstorm provides the best protection from lightning. However, once inside a structure, lightning can travel through the electrical, phone, plumbing, and radio/television reception systems. Lightning can also travel through metal wires or bars in concrete walls or flooring.
- Stay off corded phones. You can safely use cellular or cordless phones.
- Don’t touch electrical equipment such as computers, TVs, or cords. However, you can use remote controllers to turn off electrical equipment safely.
- Avoid plumbing. Do not wash your hands, take a shower or wash dishes.
- Stay off balconies, porches and out of open garages or carports.
- Protect your pets: Doghouses are not safe shelters. Dogs that are chained to trees or on metal runners are particularly vulnerable to lightning strikes.
- Protect your property: Lightning generates electric surges that can damage electronic equipment even if you are at some distance from the actual strike. Typical surge protectors will not protect equipment from a lightning strike. Do not unplug equipment during a thunderstorm as there is a risk you could be struck.
Canada receives close to four million lightning strikes a year on average. Many lightning deaths and injuries are associated with smaller local storms. It takes only one lightning bolt to change your life.
For more: Lightning safety and preparedness fact sheet.
