Lightning Do’s & Don’ts

Warning signs: • High winds, rainfall and darkening cloud cover • Thunderstorms overhead/ nearby • Louder or more frequent thunder Facts: • Lightening generally strikes the tallest object • No place is completely safe but some places are safer than others • Large enclosed structures are safer than smaller/ open structure • Lightening may strike the same place repeatedly • Most lightening deaths and injuries occur to people caught outdoors • You CAN touch lightening victims (they carry no electrical charge). Attend to them immediately Before lightening strikes: • Keep yourself informed of local weather alert/ predictions accessible in your locality • Be aware of medical contact details for lightning emergency • Make emergency plan for self/ family • Keep the emergency kit ready • Postpone outdoor activities if thunderstorm is forecast • Unplug electrical appliances • Remove dead or rotting trees and branches around your house/ building If indoors: • Close your windows and doors • Stay away from windows and doors, railings, porches/porticos If outdoors: • Move towards a safe shelter (strong building) immediately • Stay away from tractors, farm equipments, motorcycles, bicycles etc • If driving, try to safely exit road and park, away from isolated tree and areas prone to flash flooding • Generally, enclosed metal vehicles (cars, buses etc) with the windows rolled up, are better shelter than being in the open. • Stay AWAY from loose hanging power lines • If in a forest: Get shelter in a low area under a thick undergrowth of small trees • In other open areas: Try to go to a low place such as a ravine (but be alert for flash floods) • If in water get to land and find safe shelter immediately If Lightning strikes: • Call for medical assistance and ambulance immediately • It is safe to touch lightening victims and provide medical treatment • In cold, wet situations put a protective layer between the victim and the ground to lower the risk of hypothermia (very low body temperature) • Attend to the victims as follows: • If breathing stops: begin mouth- to- mouth resuscitation • If heartbeat stops: administer Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) until medical assistance arrives. • If victim has pulse: look for other possible injuries/ burns/ hearing-loss/ eyesight- loss Preparedness: • If a storm is approaching, avoid high places, hill tops, open fields, separate trees, rain/bus/picnic, shelters, communications towers, flag-poles, electric/light poles, metal fences, open vehicles and water Don’ts If indoors: • Do not use/touch corded phones/mobile/other devices plugged into electric (Cordless and wireless phones not connected to wall outlets are safer to use in case of emergency). • Do not use electrical devices immediately after thunder/ lightning • Do not wash your hands, take bath/ shower, wash dishes and do laundry • Do not lie on concrete floors/ lean against concrete walls • Avoid contact with any conductive surfaces (metal doors, window frames, wiring and plumbing/ water-taps) • Do not stand below or near a tree in case of thunder/storm/lightning • Avoid separated sheds or other small structures in open areas • Avoid contact with metal/ conductor parts of the vehicle • Stay away from loose hanging power cables.