Paradise Home Team Monthly Newsletter

Here is a safety article from our August Newsletter

How To Make Yourself And Your Family “Lightning Safe”

It can happen in any season. And its effects are potentially deadly. In 1998 alone, 44 reported lightning fatalities and more than 6,000 lightning injuries occurred in the United States.

Most people only associate lightning with summer thunderstorms, but lightning can occur any time of the year, including winter. More than 40 percent of deaths caused by lightning are in open areas; 18 percent occur under trees and 14 percent on boats.

The Insurance Information Institute says more than 21 percent of all homeowners’ insurance losses result from lightning and resulting fire. Here are a number of things you can do to protect yourself and your property from the devastating effects of lightning.

If you are outside:

1. Seek cover in a car, protected building, or find the lowest elevation spot in your surrounding area. Lightning usually strikes the highest point of the local area. If there is no shelter, stay away from tall objects. You’re safer crouching down in an open field than you are under a tree.

2. If you are in the water, get out immediately! If you are boating, get to shore. If that’s impossible, go inside the cabin or lie on the bottom of the boat, and don’t touch metal objects.

3. If you’re golfing or fishing, drop any metal clubs and rods. Do not stand in a small, isolated shed or other structure in an open area. Move away from a motorcycle, scooter, golf cart, or bicycle. Stay clear of wire fences, clotheslines, metal rails, or pipes.

4. If you feel your hair standing on end or your skin tingling, lightning may be about to hit you. Drop to your knees and make yourself into the smallest target possible.

5. Don’t assume you are safe if a thunderstorm appears to be far away. Lightning can bolt out of the edge of a storm and strike victims even if it isn’t raining yet. In fact, lightning has been known to strike from as far as 20 miles away!

If you are inside:

1. Do not use the telephone during a storm. Also, shut off electrical appliances such as TVs and stereos. Electric current cannot only surge through electrical outlets, but through cable TV and stereo wires.

2. Shut down your computer, but don’t stop there. Most lightning strike damage to computers doesn’t come through the electrical wires, but through the phone lines. And most surge equipment is helpless against it. If your computer has a modem, unplug the phone connection from your computer.

3. Stay away from open doors and windows. Also, stay away from stoves, metal pipes, and sinks. And since water conducts electricity, never take a bath or shower during a storm.

Our beaches are beautiful but can be deadly. Heed the warnings and take cover.

If you would like to have a full 4-page Newsletter mailed to you, send us an e-mail at Info@TheParadiseHomeTeam.com. Make sure you give us your address so we can mail you a copy and put you in our database.