Power surges and Lightning damage: If lightning chooses the electrical wiring as its primary path or its secondary path, the immense and explosive surge of energy can damage all the appliances that it is connected to. Shock wave damage: Lightning produces massive shock waves that can be extremely destructive. These powerful shock waves can even fracture concrete as well as brick and stone chimneys severely.
Anything of electronic nature in your building or home is susceptible to these types of damage from a lightning strike. The surge of power through the wiring can destroy a variery ofappliances like: computers, televisions, and other electronics. It can also do a lot of damage to electrical appliances such as refrigerators. A strike doesn’t even have to contact your home directly to cause a lot of damage.
Lightning has the ability to strike a house or near a house and impart an electrical charge to the metal pipes used for plumbing. Lightning is a very dangerous force that, yes, can even reach you indoors if you’re in contact with the telephone or plumbing.
Close windows and doors: Stay away from open windows, doors and garage doors as the lightning can travel through the opening to electrocute you. It’s not safe to watch a lightning storm from a porch or open garage door. It’s also best to wait to do your laundry until after the storm.
There are four basic types of damage caused by lightning: physical damage, secondary effect lightning damage, electromagnetic effect damage, and damage caused by changes in ground reference potential. When the air surrounding the lightning channel is heated this rapidly, it expands in a shock wave. This shock wave can damage a structure.