At least two individuals had been struck by lightning in New Smyrna Beach on Tuesday, with one sufferer taken to Halifax Health Medical Center’s trauma unit in Daytona Beach, officers stated.
Dispatchers in Volusia County stated the primary lightning strike hit a person on Middlebury Loop at 4:02 p.m. Officials with the National Weather Service in Melbourne stated that sufferer was critically injured.
On Wednesday, New Smyrna Beach police Capt. Jason Reve confirmed {that a} man was hit on the Middlebury Loop location.
“According to our reports, the caller observed a person standing by a tree get hit by lightning,” Reve stated.
The second incident was reported at 4:20 p.m. someplace on State Road 44, stated Derrick Weitlich, forecaster with the National Weather Service in Melbourne.
The extent of the harm to that particular person was unknown, Weitlich stated.
“We have two reports of people hit by lightning, both in New Smyrna Beach,” stated Weitlich. “We got reports that one was critically injured and the extent of the injury in the second incident is unknown.”
The NWS retains data of studies of lightning strike accidents, twister and different climate injury.
More than 1,500 lightning strikes on Tuesday
The incidents occurred throughout a powerful afternoon thunderstorm that swept by way of southeast Volusia County, northern Brevard County and components of Seminole County, between 3 and 6 p.m., Weitlich stated.
“We had over 1,500 lightning strikes recorded in the area during the storm,” Weitlich stated.
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Lightning strikes in Florida are frequent throughout the summer season months however circumstances of individuals getting struck are rare, Weitlich stated.
According to the National Lightning Safety Council, strikes killed 11 individuals nationwide in 2021, with Florida having probably the most with 4, decrease than normal. In 2016, strikes killed 10 individuals statewide, 1 / 4 of the nationwide deaths. Florida’s lowest counts had been one in 2011 and three every in 2019 and 2020.
Lightning security
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advocate the next indoor and out of doors lightning security tips to stop harm:
Indoor Safety Tips
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Avoid water. Do not bathe, bathe, wash dishes, or have every other contact with water throughout a thunderstorm as a result of lightning can journey by way of a constructing’s plumbing.
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Don’t contact digital tools. Do not use something linked to {an electrical} outlet, comparable to computer systems, laptops, recreation techniques, washers, dryers, or stoves.
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Avoid home windows, doorways, porches, and concrete. Stay away from home windows and doorways, and keep off porches. Do not lie on concrete flooring or lean on concrete partitions throughout a thunderstorm.
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Don’t use corded telephones. Corded telephones will not be protected to make use of throughout a thunderstorm.
Outdoor Safety Tips
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Be conscious. Check the climate forecast earlier than taking part in out of doors actions.
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Go indoors. Remember the phrase, “When thunder roars, go indoors.”
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Seek shelter instantly, even when caught out within the open.
If you’re caught outdoors with no protected shelter close by, the next actions would possibly cut back your danger of being struck by lightning:
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Immediately get off elevated areas comparable to hills, mountain ridges, or peaks.
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Never lie flat on the bottom. Crouch down in a ball-like place together with your head tucked and arms over your ears so that you’re down low with minimal contact with the bottom.
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Never shelter below an remoted tree.
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Immediately get out of and away from ponds, lakes, and different our bodies of water.
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Stay away from objects that conduct electrical energy (comparable to barbed wire fences, energy strains, or windmills).
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If you’re in a gaggle throughout a thunderstorm, separate from one another. This will cut back the variety of accidents if lightning strikes the bottom.
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Don’t keep in open automobiles comparable to convertibles, bikes, and golf carts.
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Don’t keep in open constructions comparable to porches, gazebos, baseball dugouts, and sports activities arenas.
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Avoid open areas comparable to golf programs, parks, playgrounds, ponds, lakes, swimming swimming pools, and seashores. Seek shelter instantly.
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Don’t keep close to tall constructions comparable to phone poles and timber; lightning tends to strike the tallest object round.
Source: Centers for Disease Control’s web site https://www.cdc.gov/disasters/lightning/safetytips.html