Stay Safe When Lightning Strikes

04/13/2023

Increase personal safety and reduce your risk of lightning injury by following these essential tips.

Before the storm

• Stay alert and listen carefully for the first signs of lightning or thunder. Remember, “When Thunder Roars, Go Indoors!”
• Seek shelter: Lightning often strikes before the rain begins, so don’t wait for the rain to start before leaving.

If you are outdoors

• Immediately leave elevated areas such as hills, mountain ridges, or peaks.
• Never lie flat on the ground.
• Never shelter under an isolated tree.
• Never use a cliff or rocky overhang for shelter.
• Immediately get out and away from ponds, lakes, and other bodies of water.
• Stay away from objects that conduct electricity like wire fences, power lines, and windmills.

If you are indoors

• Avoid water and stay away from doors and windows.
• Do not use landline telephones or headsets.
• Turn off, unplug, and stay away from appliances, computers, power tools, and television sets as lightning may strike exterior electric and phone lines and generate shocks to inside equipment.

After the storm

• Don’t resume activities until at least 30 minutes after the last lightning strike or thunderclap.
• Use first aid procedures and call 911 immediately if anyone is injured.
• Lightning victims do not carry an electrical charge, so it is safe to administer medical treatment.