Lightning fatalities were second lowest on record in 2023, safety council says
Thirteen documented deaths were reported in 2023, well below the 10-year average of 22. The only year with fewer deaths was 2021 with 11 documented deaths, the agency said.
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Last year, there were few lightning fatalities on record, with the second-lowest number of incidents reported since 2006, according to the National Lightning Safety Council.
Thirteen documented deaths were reported in 2023, well below the 10-year average of 22. The only year with fewer deaths was 2021, with 11 documented deaths, the agency said.
The fatalities resulted from 12 incidents that occurred on 12 different days, according to the National Lightning Safety Council. One of the lightning incidents on May 15 led to two fatalities.
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The fatalities occurred in nine states: Florida had four, Texas had two, and the rest happened in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Nebraska, New York, Oklahoma, Alabama and Kentucky.
"As is typically the case, the majority of deaths were men (10 of 13)," said John Jensenius, a lightning safety specialist with the National Lightning Safety Council. "Ages of the victims ranged from 6 to 73."
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According to Jensenius, lightning deaths were distributed throughout the months from April to September. Three occurred in April, four in May, one in June, one in July, four in August and one in September.
"Typically, June and July have the most lightning deaths," he said.
Five out of 13 deaths were related to leisure activities, including fishing, boating, swimming, hunting and taking a work break outdoors, Jensenius adds. A teen girl died in Oklahoma in August when she and three friends were hit by lightning while swimming in a creek.
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Four fatalities occurred as a result of work-related activities, according to Jensenius. Two deaths were due to roofing work, one was attributed to ranching, and one to farming.
The remaining four fatalities were attributed to the victims’ normal daily routine and included two deaths of a father and young son in Texas walking home from the school bus stop. One fatality happened while walking to or from a car, and another while driving after a tree fell on the car due to lightning.
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Click here for an interactive map showing all the lightning fatalities in your state since 2006.