Lightning Hazards on Your Property

2/5/2021 (Permalink)

Be prepared when lightning strikes near your Canton home.

There are many myths that involve lightning, some of which tell you exactly the opposite of what you should be doing. Getting struck by lightning is known as an extremely rare occurrence, comparable to winning the lottery, but looking at the number you are actually way more likely to be struck by lightning than to win the lottery. It is more common than people think and it is important to know the potential hazard to make sure you and your home are as safe as possible. 

Lightning presents 3 main hazards to your home if it were to be directly hit:

• Fire Damage- The biggest threat lightning holds to your home is starting a fire. Your home along with a lot of the items in it are made from flammable materials that could easily be ignited if struck. 

• Power Surge Damage- If lightning chooses any of the home's electrical wiring as its primary or secondary path, the explosive surge can damage even non-electronic appliances that are connected. Even if most of the lightning current takes other paths to the ground, the home's electrical system will experience enough of a surge to cause potentially significant damage to anything connected to it, electronics in particular.

• Shock wave Damage- Lightning can easily break and crack brick, concrete, stone, and cinder block. Brick and stone chimneys usually will take a huge hit. Lightning's shock waves can blow out plaster walls, shatter glass, create trenches in soil and crack foundations.

Your home is a safe shelter during a lightning storm, but there are some precautions to take to ensure your safety.

• Avoid water - stay out of the shower and bath during a storm.
• Avoid electronic equipment,
• Avoid corded phones - Cordless and cell phone use is okay 
• Avoid all windows, doors, porches, and concrete. 

If lightning strikes your home you will want to call 911, lightning can spark fires that will take time to be known. Lightning strikes are an underrated weather hazard as well as unpredictable. There’s not much to be done that can prevent it from striking anywhere, but you can know how to keep yourself safe. SERVPRO of Canton is your storm damage specialist.