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myocardial infarction and various cardiac arrhythmias, either of which can be rapidly fatal
as well. The intense heat generated by a lightning strike can cause lung damage, and the
chest can be damaged by the mechanical force of rapidly expanding heated air. Either the
electrical or the mechanical force can result in loss of consciousness, which is very common
immediately after a strike. Amnesia and confusion of varying duration often result as well.
A complete physical examination by paramedics or physicians may reveal ruptured
eardrums, and ocular cataracts may develop, sometimes more than a year after an otherwise
uneventful recovery.
Lightning is responsible for approximately 100 deaths a year in the United States
alone. Lightning ranks second only to floods for storm related casualties in the U.S. every
year. Many of these deaths could be prevented if basic precautions were taken when
thunderstorms are expected in an area. Listening to a radio to keep up to date on storms in
the area is the first s tep in lightning s afety.
One way to prepare is to install a lightning conductor (or, lightning rod) for preventing
lightning damage to a building. A lightning conductor is a metal spike that is connected to
earth by a low-resistance path. Should lightning strike a building, the current will travel
through the conductor rather than through the fabric of the building, causing less damage.
Electrical equipment can be protected from lightning by a lightning arrester, a device
that contains one or more gas-filled spark gaps between the equipment's cables and earth.
Should lightning strike one of the cables, the high voltage will caus e the gas in the spark gap
to break down and become a conductor, providing a path for the lightning to reach the
ground without passing through the equipment.
No place is 100% safe in a thunderstorm, but some are more safe than others. Larger,
better constructed structures are better than smaller or more open structures. Fully enclosed
metal vehicles with the windows rolled up are good shelters, providing that no contact is
made with any exposed metal inside or outside the vehicle.
When outside, avoid the following:
• High places and open fields
• isolated trees
• unprotected gazebos
• rain or picnic shelters
• baseball dugouts
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