Struck by Lightning Every 4th lightning accident ended with death

One in four struck by lightning dies from the consequences
For every fourth hit by lightning, the incident ends fatally. This number is based on calculations by the forensic lawyer Fred Zack of the University of Rostock. Again and again he stumbled in the literature about very inaccurate information. According to Zack, the mortality rates for victims of lightning strikes in scientific publications vary between 10 and 90 percent. Together with a doctoral student, he evaluated works from all over the world on this topic and came to the conclusion that every fourth lightning victim died immediately after or shortly after the lightning hit at the consequences. In Germany, between 1998 and 2013, up to eight people were killed each year during severe thunderstorms.

Every year, up to eight deaths from lightning in Germany
In Germany, several hundred people are estimated to be struck by lightning or indirectly damaged each year. "For survivors there is no statistical coverage in the Federal Republic," Zack regrets. Since 1995, he has tracked down the phenomena of lightning, which can strike people in the thunderstorms, injure or even kill people. Zack now presents new numbers. 25 percent of lightning victims around the world die. According to information from the Federal Statistical Office, between 1998 and 2013 up to eight people per year died in heavy thunderstorms.

Every fourth person struck by lightning dies as a result. (Image: danmir12)

The Rostock Rechtsmediziner is also the contact person of the Committee for Lightning Protection and Lightning Research of the Association of Electrical Engineering, Electronics and Information Technology (VDE).
Zack became suspicious, because in the scientific literature the information on the risk of dying in a lightning accident, from 10 to 90 percent differ. This high discrepancy has prompted the researcher from the University of Rostock to conduct a scientific review. Together with a doctoral student, he has evaluated works from all over the world, in which statistical information on lightning victims were made, and calculated that only about one in four, so 25 percent, die by or shortly after a lightning strike.

In this country only a clinic that specializes in lightning
However, there are no statistics on the number of people surviving a lightning accident and seriously injured. Zack has, as he says himself, infected with the topic "lightning strikes and the consequences for affected people". He complains that there is still no center for lightning victims with premature or late damage in Germany, with the exception of the Department of Neurology at the University of Regensburg, which cares for patients with lightning-related neurological complaints.

His key experience a few years ago was the accident of a young man who was so badly injured by a lightning strike on a sports field that he died in a clinic five days later.

Frequent damage after a lightning strike
During a sports event near Ludwigslust, the man had been injured standing in a tent after a lightning bolt hit a poplar nearby. "During the postmortem under intact skin area, overpowered chest muscles came to light, the heart was also severely damaged." Forensic doctor Zack searched in the German-language textbooks in vain for explanations, but such a case was described nowhere. In the international literature he came across the so-called "side splash". The lightning strikes primarily another object, such as a tree, and only part of the energy is transmitted to a nearby victim. That may be fatal.

In lightning accidents people suffer, are according to Dr.. Zack especially often affects the skin, the heart, the hearing, the eyes, the brain and the nerves. Health damage can be temporary or persistent and sometimes does not occur until after the accident. Typical examples are skin burns, hearing disorders, tinnitus, abnormal sensations and paralysis. The list of possible mental disorders is long and ranges from mental and concentration disorders to depression, anxiety (eg, in front of bright light) and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Serious damage to health threatens even if you are not struck directly by lightning
Zack has spent some time researching and analyzing how lightning can harm a human being, and has come across a total of five different electrical energy transfer mechanisms. In the German-language specialist literature were up to the first, by Dr. med. Zack investigated lightning accident just described two ways. The most dangerous type of lightning strike is the direct hit, where the current often drives through the head and leaves puncture-like punctures on the feet. He often ends fatally. The contact effect occurs when the flash strikes an object that is in direct contact with the lightning victim, such as a golf club. The already known side splash occurs when, for example, the lightning strikes a tree and parts of the energy are transferred to a nearby person. At the so-called step voltage, the current in the vicinity of the impact flows through one leg into the body and beyond the other. Last chance: With the conductor-triggered flash effect, the flash can strike a telephone line or an electric cable. Danger exists when using a corded telephone or when operating electrical appliances during a thunderstorm.

Lightning can humans but also indirectly z. For example, by a bang trauma, around flying objects or a lightning-related fire damage, says Dr. med. pow.

Lightning can transmit up to 100 million volts and several 10,000 amps within 0.02 seconds
In a lightning strike up to 100 million volts and several 10,000 amps within 0.02 seconds can affect a human. These values ​​show that the forces of a lightning strike are not comparable to those of a power outlet. The injuries are correspondingly heavier and more varied.

"The advice to lay flat on the ground during a thunderstorm in the open is long outdated, because that only increases the attack surface that is offered to the current, which then flows through the heart and can cause deadly arrhythmias," says Dr. Zack. "Better: crouch down, put your feet close to each other and hold your ears with your hands. In houses you should keep windows and doors shut during the thunderstorm and not use electrical appliances. "
Even in a car you are not 100% sure. As an inmate you should never touch the sheet metal parts in the car during thunderstorms. In addition, driving with the car should be omitted. Because when the lightning strikes, the light can be so bright that orientation is hardly possible afterwards. Furthermore, for the vehicle occupants the risk of a bang trauma with hearing loss.

Thunderstorm expert Zack emphasizes that by observing the weather forecasts and corresponding behaviors, most lightning accidents are preventable. (pm, ag)