June 09, 2006

Governor proclaims Lightning Safety Awareness Week, June 18-24

Summer is the peak season for lightning, one of weather’s most deadly occurrences. To raise awareness of the danger posed by lightning, Governor Kathleen Sebelius has signed a proclamation declaring June 18-24 as Lightning Safety Awareness Week.

“Kansas is known for tornadoes,” said Sebelius, “but more people on the average in the United States are killed by lightning each year than by tornadoes or hurricanes. I urge all Kansans to play it safe and don’t ignore this very real threat.” This year Hurricane Katrina created an abnormally high number of deaths for hurricanes.

Between the years of 1959 and 2002, 61 people have been killed by lightning in Kansas, and an additional 200 people have been struck. Kansas ranks second in the nation for the number of lightning damage reports.

“Public safety is our business,” said Maj. Gen. Tod Bunting, director of Kansas Emergency Management, Kansas Homeland Security and the adjutant general. “We want to help citizens learn about the dangers posed by lightning and how they can keep themselves safe.”

Each year, roughly 300 children and adults in the United States are struck by lightning. Over the last 30 years, on the average, 67 die and several hundred more are left to cope with permanent disabilities.

In 2004, there were 32 deaths in the U.S. attributed to lightning, down from 44, thanks in part to increased education and safety. In 2005, there were 48 deaths.

Kansas Emergency Management, the National Weather Service, and the American Red Cross have joined forces to create the Lightning Safety Awareness Campaign, which reminds Kansans of the following lightning facts and tips for staying safe:

• Lightning often strikes as far as 10 miles away from any rainfall. Many deaths from lightning occur ahead of the storm because people try and wait until the last minute before seeking shelter. You are in danger from lightning if you can hear thunder. If you can hear thunder, lightning is close enough that it could strike your location at any moment.
• The most dangerous place to be in the event of a storm is outside. You want to first seek shelter in a sturdy, closed building that contains a mechanism for conducting the electrical current from the point of contact to the ground. Avoid sheds, picnic shelters, baseball dugouts, bleachers, open carports, garages and covered patios, which are not safe from lightning strikes. If no enclosed building is accessible, get inside a hard-topped all-metal vehicle.
• If you can't get to a sturdy shelter, crouch down low in an open area. Stay at least twice as far away from trees as they are tall. Since water is an excellent conductor of electricity, avoid standing in or near puddles. Also, remember to avoid holding anything that will conduct or even attract lightning, such as golf clubs, fishing poles or tennis racquets.

For more information about lightning safety awareness, visit the National Weather Service's web page on lightning safety at http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov.

Note: Additional resources for members of the media are available at http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/media/