Direct Strike
A person struck directly
by lightning becomes a part of the main lightning discharge channel. Most
often, direct strikes occur to victims who are in open areas. Direct strikes
are not as common as the other ways people are struck by lightning, but they
are potentially the most deadly.
Side Flash
A side flash (also
called a side splash) occurs when lightning strikes a taller object near the
victim and a portion of the current jumps from taller object to the victim. In
essence, the person acts as a “short circuit” for some of energy in the
lightning discharge. Side flashes generally occur when the victim is within a
foot or two of the object that is struck. Most often, side flash victims have
taken shelter under a tree to avoid rain or hail.
Ground
Current
When lightning strikes a tree or other object, much of the
energy travels outward from the strike in and along the ground surface. This is
known as the ground current. Anyone outside near a lightning strike is
potentially a victim of ground current.
Conduction
Most indoor lightning casualties and some
outdoor casualties are due to conduction. Whether inside or outside, anyone in
contact with anything connected to metal wires, plumbing, or metal surfaces
that extend outside is at risk.
Streamers
While not as common as
the other types of lightning injuries, people caught in “streamers” are at risk
of being killed or injured by lightning. Streamers develop as the
downward-moving leader approaches the ground. Typically, only one of the
streamers makes contact with the leader as it approaches the ground and
provides the path for the bright return stroke; however, when the main channel
discharges, so do all the other streamers in the area. If a person is part of
one of these streamers, they could be killed or injured during the streamer
discharge even though the lightning channel was not completed between the cloud
and the upward streamer.
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