Lightning damages and protection practices

[Coordinator]

Around the world, lightning strikes the ground about 100 times each
second, or 8 million times a day and the damages caused by lightning
strikes are very severe. However, lightning safety has been little
studied and less practiced. A disciplined and systematic approach to
lightning safety may result in better management of the hazard and
reduced costs
Human losses and injuries
Lightning is known as one of the leading weather-related cause of
deaths and injuries. Nearly 2 000 people around the globe are killed
each year, thousands more survive with sequels. Eighty five percent of
lightning victims are children and young men ages 10-35 engaged in
recreation or work. Twenty percent of strike victims die and 70% of
survivors suffer serious long-term after effects
There is also a long list of recorded disasters caused by lightning
strikes. Looking specifically at storage and processing activities,
lightning accounts for 61% of the accidents initiated by natural
events; in North America, 16 out of 20 accidents involving petroleum
products storage tanks were due to lightning strikes.
In DRONKA – EGYPT in 1994, lightning struck the complex of eight fuel
tanks. Three of the storage tanks, each holding about 5,000 tons of
aircraft or diesel fuel for the army, exploded and spilt burning fuel
into the village. More than 410 people were killed and more than 200
houses were destroyed and at least 20,000 terrified people fled and
headed towards the provincial capital, Assiut city, five miles away.
In UNITED STATES – SONORA in 2000, lightning struck an electric
transformer in a chemical plant. The resident population was evacuated
within a radius of 800 m (200 persons), and housed in centers. Six
people sustained injuries including four fire-fighters.
Lightning strike in PERU in 2004 caused an explosion in a civil
explosive warehouse, killed six people and injury another 6.
In SPAIN – HUESCA in 2005, an explosion followed by a fire occurred
at around 6.00 pm in a grain storage of a flour factory. 19 people
sustained injuries of which 7 were serious. 11 people were
hospitalized. The facility where about 20 employees were working was
seriously damaged. The list goes on…

Impact on business
Lightning-caused problems are one of the most common troubles faced by
American business today. A recent Carnegie-Mellon study showed that
33% of U.S. businesses are affected by lightning — and that more
businesses are affected by lightning storms than by floods, fires,
explosions, hurricanes, earthquakes, and violence.
According to a German Insurance company survey, lightning accounts for
27.4% of damages to electronic equipment. Furthermore, AXA France
Insurance Company made studies and came out with the conclusion that
after a fire, one out of every two businesses ends up having to cease
trading within five years, with direct damages (real estate,
production facilities, IT equipment, etc.) or indirect damages
(temporary layoffs, loss of customers, loss of earnings, etc.)
preventing them from continuing with their business activity on sound
foundations
Lightning is responsible for more than $5 billion in total insurance
industry losses annually in the U.S, according to Hartford Insurance
Co. Homeowner paid claims only (which do not include policy deductible
amounts) are as follows for 2008: The number of paid insurance claims
was 246,200. Insured losses were $1.065 billion. The average cost per
claim was $4,324.(1)
Lightning protection practices
Scientists have warned that global warming is likely to intensify
extreme weather patterns. We could see double or triple, even more, in
the number of lightning strikes by mid-century (2). Severe storms in
recent years may be a prelude to this. For example, Cambodia saw a big
increase in the number of deaths due to lightning strike from 47 in
2007 to 93 and 133, in 2008 and 2009 respectively. A strong case
should be made for reducing lightning's human costs through the
adoption of proactive defensive guidelines.
Moreover, the rapid growth of silicon-based, microprocessor-controlled
devices across our society will expose business to more lightning
threats and accelerate costs and losses so long as adequate lightning
protection measures are not adopted as a standard practice. The direct
and indirect effects of lightning to electrical and electronic
equipment are significant, but there is little recognition of the
problem. The insurance industry provides an interesting example. It
widely promotes policy cost discounts for use of deadbolt locks, fire
extinguishers, security alarms, smoke detectors, etc. In contrast,
there are no equivalent incentives for use of lightning protection
systems by the insured to protect sensitive electronic equipment.
Insurance companies could act as agents of change here, with a benefit
to them of considerable savings in paid-out claims.

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(1) Source: Insurance Information Institute, NY, press release,
6/22/09
(2) Dr. Martin Uman, Univ. of Florida Lightning Research Center,
quoted in article in New York Times, Sept. 9, 2001