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CNN Live At Daybreak

Average 73 Americans Die Yearly in Lightning Strikes

Aired June 18, 2001 - 08:33   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: For all of you who wrote in to CNN asking about lightning, "fast as lightning" takes on a whole new meaning when you realize it is a killer. On average, 73 people die each year in the United States from lightning strikes.

CNN's John Zarrella sheds more light on the dangers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Florida, it's often said you have a better chance of getting hit by lightning than winning the state lottery. Tony Scott, a retired service technician for BellSouth, is part of that statistic.

TONY SCOTT, LIGHTNING STRIKE VICTIM: You've heard the expression "getting hit by a Mack truck." I feel like I got hit by a fleet of Mack trucks.

ZARRELLA: Scott was struck 10 years ago, while running a telephone wire. There wasn't a thunder cloud within miles when he was hit. The same was true for a tourist from Colorado struck and killed 10 days ago. In the past few weeks, in south Florida, lightning has injured a fisherman and sparked this 12,000-acre wildfire.

But while Florida leads the nation in lightning strikes, as summer approaches and people spend more time outdoors, experts say, nationwide, awareness needs to be better; 25 million lightning bolts a year hit the United States.

RON HOLLE, METEOROLOGIST: That's a whole lot more than we thought.

ZARRELLA: Ron Holle is a meteorologist at Global Atmospherics in Tucson, Arizona. Here, a nationwide network of sensors monitors lightning strikes.

HOLLE: We detect every cloud-to-ground lightning flash in the United States that hits the ground. We locate it within half a mile.

ZARRELLA: In hopes of increasing awareness, the Professional Golf Association is putting out a series of public service announcements.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you see lightning, or even just hear thunder, play it safe, and get indoors until the storm has passed.

ZARRELLA: Dr. Maryanne Cooper has seen people who didn't heed such warnings but survived. A lightning expert at the University of Illinois, she has spent 25 years studying the medical complications survivors often face.

DR. MARYANNE COOPER, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS: Very often, the changes that lightning victims have really affect their lives, and they're unable to return to their previous work because they can't multitask anymore; Their short-term memory is shot.

ZARRELLA: That's one of several complications Tony Scott faces every day.

SCOTT: I wake up with cold sweats. I still have fatigue problems, partial hearing loss in one ear.

But Scott says he can live with that because at least he is alive.

John Zarrella, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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