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Lightning Strikes

Woman struck by lightning: Amazing footage
By Matthew Moore
Last Updated: 9:08AM BST 16/07/2008

A woman who filmed the moment she was hit by lightning has spoken of her terror as the strike passed through her body.

Jessica Lynch can be heard screaming in fear after the lightning blew a hole in the ground just feet from where she was recording, in astonishing footage posted on the internet.

Mrs Lynch, 33, says an arc from the lightning struck her on her left thumb, before passing up her arm, across her back and out the other arm. Arcs are electric currents that flow through the air, similar to lightning itself.

"It scared the s*** out of me," she told the Wired.com website.

"I lost immediate memory of what was happening, though. I was very confused, and didn't know I even took video until awhile later.

"My breathing was rapid and short like hiccups for a few minutes, and my left arm flopped around like a fish out of water for an hour or so."

The artist and illustrator was taken to hospital but, remarkably, was unhurt.

Mrs Lynch was filming the storm out of her second-floor window in Guemes Island, Washington earlier this month when the lightning struck.

She says that previous strikes had been so far in the distance that she did not believe she was putting herself in danger.

"I am well aware that it is completely stupid to hold onto a metal railing and hang out of a window filming in a lightning storm," she said, adding that she would take more care when filming thunderstorms in the future.

Mrs Lynch posted the clip on the video and photo sharing website Flickr, describing it as the "unedited screaming version".

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstop ... otage.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/i_love_the ... 646424593/
 
Sky lit up as storm puts on show of the summer

Storms that lit up parts of southern England yesterday caused flooding elsewhere in Britain and Ireland.

Julian Mayes, senior forecaster with MeteoGroup, said that the electrical storm that crossed the South “was one of the most impressive light displays we have seen for some time”.

The wettest weather was in Scotland, with 53mm of rain (just over 2in) at Edinburgh airport in 24 hours. A number of roads were closed in the city.

At Shannon airport in southwest Ireland, 38mm fell in only one hour.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/w ... 481266.ece

Lightning over London slideshow:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/templa ... 8180304515
 
There was a series of huge storms in Cardiff, Wales, earlier this year, I filmed one of the several on the 9th May, a few days before my birthday :D, and took some stills of the footage.

Here are some of my favourites:
The storm started out at sea, then moved over Cardiff
storm13.jpg

storm12.jpg

storm11.jpg


It got bigger as it got closer, this is the same strike
storm14.jpg

storm15.jpg

storm16.jpg


Then things got epic!
storm.jpg


Same strike
storm2.jpg

storm3.jpg


storm4.jpg


My fave image
storm6.jpg


Then it moved out over the valley, it was still very powerful, but out of sight
storm7.jpg


I'm mst gutted I missed the most impressive strike, it went directly over my building, metres from my window, and hit the church spire you can see in some of the images. It lit up my whole room, and the lightning was at least two foot in diameter, thats how close it was!

I still have the original footage if anyone is interested in watching a pretty storm, I don't think it has sound though.
 
Some fantastic pictures there celticrose.
 
Thanks guys! They were filmed using the crap non audio video function on my little picture camera, as my actual video camera was out of power. I keep it fully charged with a fresh dvd in now, just in case I see anything else worth filming out of my window!
 
British medallist's family hit by lightning on Great Wall of China
Will Pavia, in Beijing

The family of Britain’s silver medal-winning canoeist David Florence were being treated for minor injuries this afternoon after they survived a lighting strike on the Great Wall of China.

Caught in an electrical storm, Mr Florence’s parents George and Jill, along with his brother Fraser and sister Lyndsey, took refuge inside one of the towers that bestride the Great Wall.

Their tower was then struck by lightening. They were due to return to their hotel in Beijing this evening after being treated for cuts and bruises, so ending an eventful three days in China for the Florence family.

On Tuesday the canoeist’s parents and siblings were at the side of the Shunyi white water park in Beijing, watching the 26-year-old twice negotiate the artificial rapids, survive an elimination round, and go into his final run in fourth position.

His brother Fraser said that it was “more nerve-wracking watching than for him when he’s out there”.

For his mother, Jill, the sight of her son riding through the torrent was at least not quite as nerve-wracking as the thought of her son’s other proposed career - as an astronaut. Only three months before the Olympics he had applied for a place on the European Space Agency’s astronaut training programme, but failed to be selected.

His mother was concerned that it would be “much too dangerous”.

His father, a former canoeist himself and one-time Scottish national champion, appeared intensely proud as his son, who had never won a major championship medal, produced a flawless final slalom run to step up into second place and onto the podium.

Today's drama capped an exhilarating week. After the lightening strike on the tower in which they had sheltered, they were taken back to the Olympic canoeing venue to be examined by doctors, and sent for treatment at a clinic.

A spokeswoman for the British Olympic Association said: “They are alright. They are being taken to the clinic as a precautionary measure.” She expected that they would return home at the weekend.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/ ... 531527.ece
 
Car exhaust causes lightning strikes
14 January 2009

COMMUTERS' car exhaust doesn't just warm the globe - it can also increase lightning strikes for miles around.

During the working week, air pollution rises because of all the vehicles on the road. This effect has been shown to modify rainfall patterns both at the weekend and during the week by creating stronger updrafts of air and bigger clouds.

Now it seems weekday pollution can bring lightning as well as rain. Daniel Rosenfeld of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and colleagues, counted strikes recorded across the US by the ground-based National Lightning Detection Network in June to August, from 1998 to 2008.

In the south-eastern states, lightning strikes increased with pollution by as much as 25 per cent during the working week. The moist, muggy air in this region creates low-lying clouds with plenty of space to rise and generate the charge needed for an afternoon thunderstorm.

Surprisingly, the effect was not strongest within big cities with high pollution, but in the suburbs and rural areas surrounding them. "There is a misconception that if you get away from cities, you get away from the pollution. Actually, it follows you for hundreds of miles," says Rosenfeld, who presented the research at the American Geophysical Union meeting in December.

He says the heat generated by urban areas may locally override pollution's effect on lightning.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg2 ... 126915.300
 
Pictured: The cow that was zapped by lightening - and survived
By Cher Thornhill
Last updated at 2:12 PM on 05th February 2009

It has certainly been flame grilled but this extraordinary cow is still standing.
The poor creature was struck by lightening and left with blistering burns. You would expect it to have been cooked alive.

But the cow miraculously survived, apparently unperturbed by the ordeal, and is already back roaming the meadows.

Professor of Physical Geography, Jon Nott of James Cook University, said the event was rare but entirely feasible.
He said: 'Cows are susceptible to lightning strikes because both sets of legs are on the ground.
'But, more often than not, they die from it.'
He added: 'The electricity from a lightning strike would enter the front set of legs and exit out the back legs so, based on the picture, it is possible it happened.
'While I can't explain the knee wounds, the ankle wounds would be consistent with those of lightning.'
The cow is believed to have been struck by the bolt in Gladstone, Queensland, Australia, last month.
But if it wasn't for its horrific wounds, you could hardly tell the animal had suffered.

Perhaps it has drawn comfort from the old wive's tale. After all, we are all told that lightning never strikes in the same place twice.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldne ... vived.html

(Inconsistent spelling by the Mail here - the word should be Lightning.)
 
One of my school mates was killed by lightning when we were 17.
I can't find anything about it online anywhere, but it happened at a fair in Kenilworth in Warwickshire in summer 1994, IIRC. He was sheltering from the rain under a tree, when the tree was struck.
 
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/21/20090613/tu ... 23e80.html

Lightning strikes air cadet chief

An air cadet leader has described the moment lightning struck him as he cooked sausages on a gas camping stove.

Eric Brocklebank, 63, was hit as he used a metal prong to prod the frankfurters boiling in a pan at an air cadet event at RAF Digby in Lincolnshire.

Mr Brocklebank, chairman of the Worksop 303 Squadron Air Cadets, was in a tent making hotdogs for youngsters as a torrential storm broke out on Sunday.

Describing the dramatic event, the dental X-ray consultant, from Nether Langwith, near Worksop, Nottinghamshire, said: "I had a metal prong in my hand to get the sausages out of the pan, which was probably not ideal but you don't expect to get struck by lightning.

"There was a big flash and it came straight through the tent to the utensil I was holding and through my body, exiting through my right foot.

"It hit me inside, my internal body got really hot.

"I imagine it's like a chicken in a microwave - it cooks you from the inside. It was like an implosion.

"It put pressure on my eyes and I could not see. I turned around and all I could see was the outline of people."

He was taken to Lincoln County Hospital where he spent two days being treated

According to the news on BBC radio, after the man was struck he lay in a daze repeating the word "sausages", which adds a layer of unintentional humour.
 
Cows killed by lightning strike
By Angie Brown
Edinburgh reporter, BBC Scotland news website

A lightning strike killed 16 cows which were sheltering from a storm in a field in East Lothian.

A neighbour saw one of the animals being struck as they stood under a tree at Saltoun House Farm, Pencaitland, on Sunday.

It is thought that the lightning conducted through a puddle to kill the other cows.

Farm manager Jim McDougal told the BBC Scotland news website he had been "very upset" by the "freak act of nature".

The 60-year-old said he and his daughter Alison had gone to the field after being alerted by the neighbour.

The beef farmer said: "It is a shocking thing to see. I felt numbness, it was unbelievable.

"They were all either sitting or lying where they had fallen in a regimented row. I have never seen anything like it in my life.

"The cows were singed and we could smell it in the air when we arrived.

"I am very upset, but it was a freak act of nature so there was nothing I could do about it."

His wife Elizabeth said: "Jim could not believe the carnage he saw.

"A man down the road saw a cow being struck by lightning and then the vet thinks it conducted the lightning to the other cows as they were standing in the same puddle under a tree."

A vet from Haddington took blood samples and confirmed that the 18-month-old bullocks had died from a lightning strike.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/edi ... 100953.stm
 
Lightning strike sets house ablaze

A family from Altrincham, Greater Manchester, has been left temporarily homeless following a lightning strike.

Lorraine Coppola said that she heard a loud noise, but did not initially realise that it was her home that had been hit.

The forked lightning hit the roof of the property, on Oakwood Lane in Altrincham at 2200 BST on Thursday, starting a fire that forced 30 people to flee their homes.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8109696.stm

With news report video clip.
 
Boy hurt in park lightning strike

A 16-year-old boy suffered a cardiac arrest and five others were hurt in a lightning strike in a Birmingham park.

The teenager is in a critical but stable condition following the incident in Small Heath Park at 1650 BST, said West Midlands Ambulance Service.

Five other teenagers were also taken to hospital. It is believed three are still in hospital under observation.

A spokeswoman for the ambulance service said it received several 999 calls following the incident.

She said five ambulances were sent to the scene as well as a rapid response motorcycle, an incident support officer and a senior paramedic manager.

"Crews arrived at the park to find a teenage boy receiving CPR from a member of the public," she said.

"The 16-year-old boy suffered serious burns after being struck by lightning and was in cardiac arrest.

"Crews continued emergency medical treatment on the boy and transferred him by land ambulance to Heartlands Hospital."

A second teenage boy suffered convulsions consistent with an electric shock and was treated at the scene before he was also taken to Heartlands Hospital.

The four other teenagers suffered minor injuries and were assessed at the scene before three were taken to City Hospital and one to Heartlands.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west ... 122769.stm
 
From New Scientist Feedback:

Hair-raising event
29 July 2009

Walking along the breakwater at Berwick-upon-Tweed in north-east England recently, my granddaughter and her mother noticed their hair was standing on end. It started to rain soon afterwards, but there was no thunder or lightning that day. What was happening?

• From one of my physics textbooks I recall a hair-raising picture of a woman standing on an exposed viewing platform at Sequoia National Park in California. She was in grave danger; lightning struck only minutes after she left, killing one person and injuring seven others (Fundamentals of Physics, 6th Edition, by David Halliday, Robert Resnick and Jearl Walker). It's likely that similar conditions were abroad on the day your photo was taken.

Most lightning clouds carry a negative charge at their base. Anything close to the cloud would feel the effect of electrostatic forces: electrons in a person's hair would be repelled downwards, leaving the ends of the hair positively charged. The positive hair tips then get attracted to the cloud - and repelled by each other - and stand on end. It's rather like rubbing a balloon on someone's hair to make the hair stand on end: the balloon becomes negatively charged and the hair is attracted to it.

Lightning victims often describe how they felt tingly and their hair stood on end before they got struck. Fortunately air is a good electrical insulator and, in this instance, the charge in the clouds wasn't high enough to jump down to earth, so there was no lightning. However, this was probably a lucky escape for your family. If your hair stands on end outdoors or your skin is tingling, lighting may be imminent and it's best to run for suitable shelter. :shock:

Iain Longstaff, Linlithgow, West Lothian, UK

• The phenomenon described above is known as luck - the two people were fortunate not to have been struck by lightning. Experienced hikers and climbers know that this hair-raising phenomenon can be a precursor to a lightning strike and are taught to flatten themselves or, if climbing, dive for lower ground.

The two people described in the question are very lucky not to have been struck by lightning

There is a vertical voltage gradient in the atmosphere, typically in the order of 100 volts per metre on a clear, dry day. For an average adult male, then, there will be a 180 to 200-volt difference between the toes and the top of their head.

When electrically charged would-be storm clouds scud overhead, an induced ground charge follows the clouds, markedly increasing the voltage gradient. If the potential difference is sufficient to overcome the resistance of the air - around 3 million volts per metre - then lightning leaps across the gap. In practice, lightning strikes are possible at substantially lower voltage differences. The fact that the reader saw no lightning and heard no thunder merely suggests that, luckily, the voltage never rose high enough for a lightning strike.

Larry Constantine, Department of Mathematics and Engineering, University of Madeira, Funchal, Portugal

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg2 ... r&nsref=lw[/i]
 
Good slow-mo video here:

Lightning strikes Beetham Tower


A university video technician captured the moment Manchester's iconic Beetham Tower was struck by lightning.

The 47-storey building, one of the tallest in the UK, was hit by forked lightning during a storm over the city on Thursday morning.

Andrew Cooper captured the moment with a webcam set up on his office window sill at the University of Manchester.

"I'd set the camera up and I didn't expect to catch anything like that - it was a hell of a bang," he said.

The lightning struck at 0920 BST on Thursday as a storm rumbled over the city and surrounding area.

But despite the direct hit, the building's roof remained undamaged.

The £150m building's designers said this was because the lightning struck the steel fin on top of the building.

Ernst Ter Horst, of Ian Simpson Architects, said: "One of the functions of the blade structure is to carry electricity down the building right down into the earth's core.

"It's connected into the structure of the building as a reinforcement which provides a rapid conductor down into the earth."

The Beetham Tower stands 561ft (171m) tall at the junction of Liverpool Road and Deansgate in central Manchester.

It is the tallest building in Manchester and is said to be one of the tallest residential buildings in Europe.

A Hilton hotel occupies the first 23 floors of the building.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manc ... 179203.stm
 
Miraculous escape for man who burst into flames after 300,000-volt lightning bolt hit him in the ear
By Andrew Levy
Last updated at 9:50 AM on 04th August 2009

He is battered, bruised and slightly charred, but Brad Gifford is counting his blessings after surviving a lightning strike.
While out walking his dogs, he decided to shelter under a tree during a thunderstorm.
Burn marks on his body show that the 300,000-volt charge entered through his right earlobe and left via his left ankle.
A friend standing nearby described how the 38-year-old bricklayer, who had been out walking his dogs, stood ‘bolt upright’ before keeling over.
Mr Gifford was knocked unconscious by the strike, which perforated both his eardrums and caused burns to 11 per cent of his skin.

He has no recollection of the incident near a trout lake more than a week ago and learned what had happened only when he woke up in intensive care the following day.
‘All I know is what has been relayed by other people,’ said Mr Gifford, who lives with his girlfriend Elaine Page in Kettering, Northamptonshire.
‘The only thing I can remember is driving to the lake after work. I don’t remember any bang or being hit.
‘My hearing is still shot and my left ankle is the most badly burned. Everywhere else I’ve just lost the first two or three layers of skin.
‘I think I got off very lightly. There was a bloke in hospital the week before me who got hit by lightning and died.
‘I’m just glad I wasn’t holding the dogs’ leads when I got hit. That would have been the end of them.’

Mr Gifford, a keen angler, was walking his cocker spaniels Rolo and Ria around the Elinor Trout Fishery in the village of Aldwincle on July 24 when the storm blew in.
He and the fishery owner, Edward Foster, an old friend, took shelter in a copse along with a couple of anglers.
Mr Foster, 45, said: ‘We were about two thirds of the way around the lake when suddenly it started absolutely tipping it down.
‘We took shelter under a copse of trees which should be reasonably safe.
‘There was a massive bang and a terrific white light. For a second I could not comprehend what had happened.
‘I was six feet from Brad and saw the whole right side of his shirt was on fire. His eyes were closed, he was still standing bolt upright, and then suddenly keeled over.
‘I thought he was dead and screamed his name at the top of my voice. It was the most terrifying thing I’ve ever seen – it’s probably just as well he can’t remember much.

‘It was panic stations for all of us. We patted out the flames and for a few seconds I tried to bring him round by slapping him in the face.
‘At one stage I couldn’t feel a pulse. Then Brad opened his eyes and he was obviously in a bad way.
‘I had my mobile so I dialled 999. Luckily, we had a doctor fishing at the lake, so I ran half a mile back to the car park to get him to help. By the time I got back Brad was breathing and drifting in and out of consciousness.
‘His voice was a high-pitched squeak and he couldn’t stop effing and blinding, although he could not comprehend what had happened to him.’

Mr Gifford, who had been wearing walking shoes with rubber soles, was treated by paramedics and taken by air ambulance to hospital in Coventry before he was transferred to Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham, where he was treated for burns across his shoulders, groin and left leg.

He is also seeing an ear specialist after developing tinnitus. Doctors believe his right eardrum should heal within six to eight weeks. His left eardrum, which was not as badly damaged, is expected to mend sooner. Met Office spokesman Barry Gromett said: ‘Being struck by lightning does not necessarily result in death.
‘It all depends on the path of the bolt as it goes to ground.
‘If it misses the heart your chances significantly improve, though burning can be severe.’

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... s-ear.html
 
Woman hit by lightning moments before marriage proposal
An American woman has been struck by lightning and killed while she was on a walk with her boyfriend, who had planned to propose to her when they reached the top of the mountain.
Published: 7:00AM BST 08 Jun 2010

Richard Butler wanted his girlfriend to think they were just taking a scenic hike in the North Carolina mountains, but he had a secret plan. When they got to the top, he planned to pull out a ring and ask her to be his bride.

However, lightning struck three times as the couple from Tennessee were on Max Patch Bald, near Asheville. The third bolt hit Mr Butler, 30, and his 25-year-old girlfriend, Bethany Lott. Miss Lott died on the scene. Mr Butler suffered third degree burns.

"She didn't say anything, and I turned around and she was laying a few feet away, and I crawled to her," he told the Ashville Citizen. "I did CPR for probably 15 minutes and the whole time was trying her cell phone, but I couldn't get anything out."

He said the lightning strike knocked him off his feet.

"I was spun 180 degrees and thrown several feet back," he told the newspaper. "My legs turned to Jello, my shoes were smoking and the bottom of my feet felt like they were on fire."

His mother, Janet Delaney, said her future daughter-in-law loved the mountains.

"She hiked thousands of miles and spent a couple of years in Utah just hiking," Ms Delaney, of Knoxville said.

The pair had set off after a rainstorm, but bad weather returned before they could reach the peak, Mr Butler said.

"Her last words were, 'Look at how beautiful it is,"' he said.

Mr Butler turned around to see his fiancee lying on the hill.

Unable to carry her down the hill, Mr Butler drove to the first home he found. A father and his son, who was home on leave from the Navy, jumped in Butler's truck and raced back to the Bald.

"They stood on the top of the hill doing what they could for probably 20 minutes until the rescuers got there," Mr Butler said.

After rescuers arrived, they tried unsuccessfully to resuscitate Miss Lott.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... posal.html

(It pains me to note that the Telegraph mis-spelled 'lightning' in the heading of this piece - note the URL spelling. I've corrected that, and another couple of typos in the text.)
 
The moment lightning struck twice in the same place at the same time: Stunning images as storm breaks over Chicago
By Mail Foreign Service
Last updated at 11:15 AM on 24th June 2010

This is the extraordinary moment a photographer captured bolts of lightning striking not one, but two Chicago landmarks at the same time.
Electricity rushed down the lightning rods atop the The Willis Tower and the Trump Tower at the exact same instant last night.
Seen through the rain from the Hancock Tower, the strikes lit up the sky around.

They came as severe storms rolled through the Windy City last night. There were tornado warnings as winds gusted to up to 80mph, and flooding closed some major roads.

The Department of Streets and Sanitation said 450 'tree emergencies' had been reported - but fortunately there were no injuries.
The storms grounded flights at O'Hare International Airport for nearly an hour.
The Willis Tower, formerly the Sears Tower, is the city's tallest building at 108 stories and 1,451 feet. It was built in 1973.

etc...

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldne ... z0rlTY1dzZ
 
So long as it didn't strike the pot of gold: Stunning image captures bolt of lightning cracking beneath a rainbow
By Mail Foreign Service
Last updated at 9:38 AM on 2nd July 2010

This extraordinary image captures the moment a bolt of lightning cracks beneath a rainbow as the setting sun turns the sky salmon pink in Kuala Lumpur.

The picture was taken in the Malaysian city today.
Rainbows are caused with the sun's light shines into water droplets in the atmosphere. The water refracts the white light, splitting it into a stunning spectrum of colour.
Lighting is flashes of electricity caused by friction when clouds rub together.

For the two to occur together under such a sky - and that moment to be caught on camera - means this is surely a once in a lifetime shot.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldne ... z0sVskGZAh
 
Colombia plane crashes after lightning strike
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-10988966

A Colombian plane has crashed after being struck by lightning, killing at least one person and injuring 114, officials say.

The Boeing 737, carrying 131 passengers, had been attempting to land at an airport on the island of San Andres in the Caribbean Sea.

The passenger jet, which was being operated by local airline Aires, crashed short of the runway.

It had left the Colombian capital of Bogota about midnight.

David Barrero from the Colombian Air Force said reports suggested the plane had crashed at 1.49am (0649 GMT).

San Andres Island, about 120 miles (190km) east of the Nicaraguan coast, is a popular tourist destination.
 
Lightning bolt kills Wild At Heart giraffe

A giraffe that appeared on the ITV drama Wild At Heart has died after being struck by a bolt of lightning.

Producer Nick Goding said cast and crew are heartbroken following the sudden death of "playful and charming" Hamley.

The seven-year-old had featured in the show for five years and had already appeared in scenes that were shot for the forthcoming series.

The thunderstorm, which killed Hamley, took place on Monday on the Glen Afric reserve in South Africa.

The series stars Stephen Tompkinson and Dawn Steele as newlyweds Danny and Alice Trevanion.

The cast did not witness the incident, as they were away from the reserve filming scenes elsewhere.

"We are all desperately upset about the passing of Hamley, who has been part of the Wild At Heart family for five years," said Goding.

"It was a natural disaster, but nevertheless heartbreaking for everyone who has been involved with him - he was a real character.

"Our wildlife is very much at the heart of the series - Hamley was a gentle, playful and charming animal. He will be greatly missed by everybody."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11718785

I guess lightning is an occupational hazard for giraffes. :(
 
This is a surprisingly common occurrence for giraffes.

Just a thought: is that why Dali depicted a burning giraffe?
 
Lightning bolt kills mother and her four children
A mother and four of her children have been killed in South Africa after a bolt of lightning struck their thatched home during a thunderstorm on Wednesday night.
The latest incident brings the total number of people killed by lightning in KwaZulu-Natal province alone to 19 since last November
By Aislinn Laing, Johannesburg 6:22PM GMT 10 Mar 2011

Busisiwe Mdluli, 36, died alongside her daughter Mele, seven, and her brothers Khayelihle, 12, Mthando, two, and Amahle, who was just six months old.

Three more children survived the incident but were left badly burned. They were on Thursday night being comforted by their father, who had been working away from home but returned after police traced him.

Mrs Mdluli and her children were sheltering from the storm inside their traditional rondavel thatched house on the piece of exposed land on a mountainside in Mhlwazini village near the eastern coastal city of Durban, when the lightning struck between 6pm and 7pm.

Vernon Mchunu, the local government spokesman, said Mr Mdluli was now caring for his three children injured in the incident and another sibling who had not been at home.
"He is absolutely shattered," he said. "The poor man has lost half of his family in one moment.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... ldren.html
 
Lightning strike was is the second biggest cause of death after heart attacks in some Pacific islands, according a Boy's Bumper Book of Facts (or sumfink like that) I had as a kid.
 
Very impressive:

Electrifying image – a rare lightning phenomenon is caught on camera
Polish photographer jubilant at capturing 'a unique moment brought by nature'
Rowenna Davis and agencies guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 13 April 2011

This electrifying shot shows a thick bolt of lightning slamming into the ground just missing a tree.
Polish photographer Przemyslaw Wielicki spent 15 minutes trying to get the picture in Poland as the storm discharged bolts of lightning.
He said: "This photograph was taken from a little hill, where I was tracking a storm moving about 2km from me.
"The whole session took about 15 minutes and I got only one well exposed and framed capture.
"When I saw this picture on my computer, to my big surprise, I discovered that I recorded a rare phenomenon – ribbon lightning."

Ribbon lightning occurs when the bolt consists of several parallel strokes, making it look like a ribbon.
The photographer said that the lightning in his image has 10 distinct strokes. Five are easily visible but the rest require very close examination.

Premislaw, 38, added: "Striving to capture the unique moments, which nature brings to us from time to time, is what I really enjoy the most."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/ ... on-camera#
 
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