Danger of lightning underestimated: Thunderstorms pose a great danger in South Africa and despite the fact that people are aware of it, it already seems as if people do not realize the critical of the danger. Many people die in this country as a result of being struck by lightning, this is not only adults but also children who are in areas that is unsafe during lightning and thunderstorms.
There have been a media statement issued in which the professionals want to once again make the public aware of the posing danger of thunderstorms, the Danger of lightning underestimated by the people. The enormous electrical charge that passes through a person’s body when struck by lightning damages almost every organ. Body tissue may also be severely damaged. Victims struck by lightning need medical attention at a well-equipped medical unit. The victim may show various symptoms such as a heart attack, loss of pulse and respiration, temporary paralysis and deafness as well as less severe to severe burns. If the person is unconscious and does not breathe, it is necessary to apply artificial respiration immediately as the electric charge that passed through the patient’s body affected the rhythm of the electrical impulse that made the heart beat.
Rather stay indoors during thunderstorms with doors and windows closed. Another safe place is your motor vehicle and make sure that all the windows are closed. Although it is very vivid to watch a thunderstorm, stay about two meters away from the windows. As rain is preceded by thunderstorms, professionals advise people not to wait until the rains subside before seeking proper shelter. Disconnect all electronics as the lightning may strike a cable outside your home and then spread inside which could also shock you and damage your electronic equipment. Also avoid all contact with water such as ponds, rivers, water taps, showers and baths as water is a very good conductor of electricity. Water pipes are usually grounded and if a system is hit higher up against a building, the power will discharge through the shortest path to a conductor that makes earth. It may be you under the shower with your wet feet well grounded on the shower floor.