![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090122120533im_/http://www.cdc.gov/nasd/images/line.jpg)
Lauren Wynn
is
the Program Specialist who coordinates the Georgia Farm Bureau
Safety Program.
Georgia Farm Bureau Safety Program
Summertime
brings hot weather, family vacations, and severe thunderstorms.
Those thunderstorms do more than change your afternoon plans
- they cause a lot of damage. A bolt of lightning can cause
injury or death, fire, and destruction of electric-powered
equipment. Lightning is electricity, and electricity is always
looking for the fastest way to reach the earth. Water, metal,
trees, or even people can serve as a conductor to provide
that path to ground.
When
a thunderstorm threatens, you should get inside. Even though
the thunderstorm may not be directly overhead, lightning can
strike several miles from the parent cloud. Hilltops, hillsides,
and buildings surrounded by flat fields all tend to attract
lightening. A wooden rain shelter or stand of trees doesn't
provide adequate protection.
If you
are caught outside, you should avoid being higher than your
surrounding area. In an open area, find a low spot to wait
out the storm. Stay away from open water and get off tractors
or other open metal vehicles. You should also avoid wire fences,
clotheslines, metal pipes, and rails. Do not stand underneath
a telephone pole or a tall, isolated tree.
When
a person is struck by lightning, they receive a severe electrical
shock and may be burned. It is not dangerous to touch them.
If someone appears to have been killed by lightning, frequently
they can be revived if you act quickly. According to the American
Red Cross, you should immediately begin mouth-to-mouth resuscitation
if a victim is not breathing. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation
(CPR) is necessary if both a pulse and breathing are absent.
A victim should still be given first aid for shock if they
appear to be unharmed. Look for burns at fingers and toes,
as well as next to jewelry and buckles.
To help
prevent lightning damage to buildings, you should prepare
ahead of time. Install lightening rods on high points of buildings,
especially vents and air-handling units. Another protection
device is a ground rod, which should be installed around the
perimeter of buildings along with the interconnecting cables.
Surge arresters can protect inside wiring and appliances from
any lightening-generated surges that travel through power
lines.
You should
also protect any tree that is within ten feet of a building
and taller than the building. A lightning protection system
for a tree attaches lightning rods and cables to the branches
and tree trunk. The conductor cable is buried at the base
of the tree and extends at least twelve feet from the trunk
to ground the connections. This system not only protects the
tree, but might prevent damage to the building, if the tree
should fall. You probably want to get a certified installer
to install a lightning protection system for your home and
trees, rather than trying to do it yourself.
Check
the weather forecast and be prepared when lightning strikes.
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NASD Review: 04/2002
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