GTPD: When Thunder Roars, Go Indoors

Gloucester Township Police Department submitted the following press release to Gloucester Township Patch as part of its "101 Days of Summer" safety initiative:

Each year in the United States, more than 400 people are struck by lightning. On average, between 55 and 60 people are killed. Most of these deaths and incidents could be avoided by taking simple precautions. Severe weather can occur at anytime during the summer and you must be prepared.

Facts about lightning:
1. All thunderstorms produce lightning and are dangerous. In an average year, lightning kills about the
same amount of people as tornadoes and more people than hurricanes.
2. Lightning often strikes outside the area of heavy rain and may strike as far as 10 miles from any rainfall.
3. If you can hear thunder, you are in danger.

Indoor Lightning Safety Tips:
1. Stay off corded phones, computers and other electrical equipment that put you in direct contact with
electricity.
2. Avoid plumbing, including sinks, baths and faucets.
3. Stay away from windows and doors, and stay off porches.
4. Do not lie on concrete floors, and do not lean against concrete walls.

Last Resort Outdoor Risk Reduction Tips:
- NO PLACE outside is safe when lightning is in the area, but if you are caught outside with no safe shelter anywhere nearby, the following actions may reduce your risk:
1. Immediately get off elevated areas such as hills, mountain ridges or peaks
2. NEVER lie flat on the ground
3. NEVER use a tree for shelter
4. NEVER use a cliff or rocky overhang for shelter
5. Immediately get out and away from ponds, lakes and other bodies of water
6. Stay away from objects that conduct electricity
7. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES should ANY of the above actions be taken if a building or an all metal vehicle is nearby.

Information provided by: lightningsafety.noaa.gov

For additional information:
- NWS lightning links, forecasts, assessments
- NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards
- American Red Cross
- Federal Emergency Management Agency