LIGHTNING NOT FRIGHTENING

Published June 15, 2010
By Dillon Pedron

Via e-mail -- I enjoyed your lightning strike stories in the March/April 2010 issue of Torch ("Lightning in a Bottle," page 8 and "Bolt from Above," page 12); they were very entertaining. But what was your safety message? That lightning strikes aren't that serious? One might come to that conclusion as all five people you featured suffered no long-term or permanent damage. Even in your sidebar article ("When Thunder Roars, Go Indoors!" page 13), it states "Nearly 300 people suffer permanent neurological disabilities each year from lightning strikes ... and on average, between 55 and 60 people are killed." Perhaps it would have been beneficial to also talk to someone who'd suffered permanent damage or to family members of those who were the unluckiest of all. Those types of stories might have served as more of a deterrent. Maybe I'm just nitpicking. But I know that a lot of the lightning strike stories and statistics that I've read indicate that most victims suffer long-term ill effects, both physically and emotionally ... to include depression and even a higher rate of suicide.