HOBOKEN, NJ – AUGUST 22: Lightning illuminate the sky over lower Manhattan as a bolt strikes One World Trade Center in New York City on August 22, 2017 as seen from Hoboken, NewJersey (Photo by Gary Hershorn/GettyImages)(2017Gary Hershorn)
Deaths from from lightning strikes hit a record low in 2017 in the United States, inning accordance with a brand-new report.
There were 16 lightning-related casualties in 2017, breaking the previous low of 23 deaths in 2013, inning accordance with the National Weather Service (NWS). The records return to the 1940 s, when farmers utilizing tractors and other farm devices comprised a big percentage of the 200 to 400 individuals who passed away from lightning every year, LiveScience reported formerly.
“While we don’t like to see any lightning deaths, the continuing downward trend in yearly fatalities is encouraging,”John Jensenius, a NSW lightning security expert, informed press reporters in an e-mail. [Images of Lightning Unfolding, Frame by Frame]
With 5 deaths, Florida had the most lightning-related casualties, followed by Alabama (3), and Colorado, Texas and North Carolina (2 each). Ohio and Puerto Rico each had one lightning-related death.
The year 2017 likewise set a record for least U.S. male deaths (15) and woman deaths (one) from lightning in a year. The victims’ ages varied from 0 to 82, although 6 of the casualties were in ages from 30 to 39, Jensenius stated.
Half of individuals were doing leisure activities outside– consisting of strolling on the beach, horseback riding, fishing, boating, outdoor camping and playing golf– prior to lightning struck them. July was the most dangerous month, with 8 lightning-related casualties, followed by August, which had 3.
An analysis of lightning victims from 2006 to 2016 revealed that 352 individuals were struck and eliminated by lighting in the United States, consisting of 39 in 2016.
“The common belief that golfers are responsible for the greatest number of lightning deaths was shown to be a myth,”Jensenius composed in a report, keeping in mind that in the very same duration, from 2006 to 2016, in which lightning eliminated 9 golf players, it declared the lives of 33 anglers, 20 individuals on the beach, 18 campers, 16 boaters and 12 soccer gamers.
The NWS lightning security education and awareness program, which began in 2001, has “undoubtedly contributed to the reduction in U.S. lightning fatalities,” Jensenius informed press reporters. What’s more, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillators (AEDs) have actually conserved the lives of individuals hit by lightning, he stated in the report.
However, lots of lightning survivors report having long-lasting issues, consisting of memory concerns. “Oftentimes, they have trouble remembering old things, or storing new information and then recalling that information,” Jensenius informed Live Science formerly.
Original post on LiveScience
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