| Before lightning strikes: |
- Keep an eye on the sky.
Look for darkening skies, flashes of light or increasing
winds. Listen for thunder.
- If you can hear thunder,
you are close enough to the storm to be struck by
lightning. Go to a safe shelter immediately.
- Listen to NOAA weather
radio, commercial radio, or television for the latest
forecasts.
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| When a storm approaches: |
- Find shelter in a
building or a car. Keep car windows closed and avoid
convertibles.
- Telephone lines and
metal pipes can conduct electricity. Unplug appliances.
Avoid the telephone or any electrical appliances (leaving
electric lights on, however, doesn't increase the chance
of your home being struck by lightning).
- Avoid taking a bath or
shower, or running water for any purpose.
- Turn off the air
conditioner. Power surges from lightning can overload the
compressor resulting in a costly repair job.
- Draw blinds and shades
over windows. If windows break due to objects by the
storms, the shades will prevent glass from shattering into
your home.
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| If Caught Outside: |
- If you in the woods,
take shelter under the shorter trees.
- If you are boating or
swimming, get to land and find shelter immediately!
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| Protecting Yourself
outside: |
- Go to low-lying, open
place away from trees, poles, or metal objects. Make sure
that the place you pick is not subject to flooding.
- Be a very small target!
Squat low to the ground. Place your hands on your knees
with your heads between them. Make yourself the smallest
target possible.
- Do not lie flat on the
ground, this will make you a larger target!
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- If Indoors......avoid
water. Stay away from doors and windows. Do not use the
telephone. Take off headsets. Turn off, unplug, and stay
away from appliances, computers, power tools, and TV sets.
Because water may travel through and on the pipes and
tubing, lightning may strike exterior electric and phone
lines inducing shocks to inside equipment.
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- Lightning safety program
fro swimming pools
Lightning's behavior is
random and thus unpredictable. Preparedness and quick
responses are the best defense towards lightning.
Swimming pools, indoor or
outdoor, are connected to a much larger surface area via
underground water pipes, gas pipes, electric and
telephone wiring, etc. Lightning strikes the ground
anywhere on the metallic network may induce shocks
anywhere.
At the first signs of
lightning or thunder, swimming pools and beaches should
be evacuated ("If you can hear thunder, suspend
activities"). Seek shelter inside the main building or
in a fully enclosed vehicle with the windows up. Pools
and beaches should remain clear for 30 minutes after the
last observed lightning or audible thunder.
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- You
do not have to be directly hit lightning to be affected.
Lightning can travel along
the ground from a nearby strike to you. It can also jump
from nearby objects that are struck.
- Avoid being near
fences and power lines that lead into areas where
lightning is occurring. An electrical charge can travel
along the wires and jump to you or cause an injury if you
touch live wires or an energized fence.
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If someone is struck by
lightning (First Aid): |
- People struck by
lightning carry no electrical charge and can be handled
safely.
- Call for help. Get
someone to dial 9-1-1 or your Emergency Medical Service
number.
- The injured person has
received an electrical shock and may be burned, both where
they were struck and where the lightning left their body.
Check for burns in both places. Being struck by lightning
can also cause damage to the nervous system, broken bones,
loss of hearing or loss of eyesight.
- Give first aid. If
breathing has stopped, begin rescue breathing. If the
heart has stopped beating, a trained person should give
CPR. If the person has a pulse and is breathing, stop and
care for other possible injuries. Learn first aid and CPR
by taking a Red Cross CPR course. Call your local Red
Cross chapter for class schedules and fees.
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