Books > Lightning: Fire from the Sky

Why This Book Is Important - My perception of lightning was dramatically altered during the course of researching this book. Originally, I thought of lightning as a remote, unusual phenomenon, of interest due to the large release of energy that accompanies a lightning strike, the damage it could cause, and the rare fatality. During my early work on the book, I was amazed at the number of people who have had a close experience with lightning. I had just to mention the topic I was working on and the stories came pouring forth. A neighbor�s mother was struck while talking on the phone. Another friend experienced a near miss when lightning shattered a nearby tree. Another recounted how her grandmother was knocked unconscious while milking a cow. All of her hair was burned off. She eventually recovered, but the cow was killed. Dozens of such stories altered my perception. Suddenly, lightning injury was no longer a remote, rare phenomena�it was close and personal. The book includes a selection of personal accounts, told by lightning strike survivors themselves to me.

My research revealed new facets of great importance to a general readership. First, the chances of being struck by lightning are much greater than is generally believed. It is fair to say that on the average, several people�perhaps dozens�are killed by lightning, somewhere in the world, every day of the year. In the lesser developed parts of the world, where the populations are largely rural, thousands will die needlessly. In the United States, a hundred or more people will die from lightning strikes this year. As many as one thousand will be struck; the actual number is not known with accuracy because there is no standard reporting system. The official statistics understate the actual number of victims. Even more disconcerting is the fact that 30 percent of those who survive a strike will die of their injuries within a few years.

Tragically, many of these deaths could be avoided by prompt and appropriate medical care. But the fact is, few medical practitioners know how to treat lightning victims�not just their physical symptoms, but the neuropsychological effects as well. The cost of lightning deaths and injuries�productive careers cut short, horrendous medical expenses, disruption of families, bereavement, and loss�is much larger than might be expected. The really horrific aspect of this is that most deaths and injuries are avoidable. Observing commonsense rules to avoid exposure is a starting point; deployment of a new generation of detection and warning devices would further reduce the human and social costs of lightning injuries, and improved medical care would drop death rates.

Government agencies, notably the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA), have few provisions for lightning hazard education, and little in the way of standards for training.

There is a huge cost due to lightning damage of electric utility systems. Yet, through solid engineering, research, and information exchange, utility engineers have been able to devise protective systems that have reduced outages despite the fact that the systems have expanded and grown ever more complex. Still, more remains to be done.

A parallel effort is urgently needed in the public sector to increase awareness of individuals, to expand the usage of lightning detection systems, and to better prepare medical practitioners to deal with lightning victims. Hopefully, this book will help raise international awareness to the importance of this problem.