How true is it that lightning never ever strikes the same place twice?
If you ask my beloved nephews and nieces, the answer is false. Love, it can strike the same place twice and many times more, especially around the dining table groaning with holiday food.
Stating the obvious, they approach the table at lightning speed, grab their share, and strike and strike again.
Thank Zeus for Lightning Safety Week, celebrated during the last full week of June, we can talk about this beautifully fearsome display of firepower cast by the sky.
Lightning must have awed our ancestors as they hid in their cave homes during a thunderstorm. I am not talking as an expert but maybe a daring dude in their clan must have been able to safely trap a finger of lightning, and brought it back home, like the mythical Prometheus.
Of course, flint stones brought fire to mankind. You know that. The lightning tale I wove just sounds more striking, to ignite a pun if I may.
Going back to lightning hitting an object twice, the chance of this happening is likely especially if the object is isolated and tall.
According to Fox Weather, the 102-story Empire State Building gets struck by lightning 25 times a year.
Not going too far away, I recall that in Liloan, Cebu, two people were hit by lightning as they hid under a lean-to during a thunderstorm.
In another incident, a farmer was whipped by lightning as he hid in his hut. His wife said the lightning bolts seemed to circle around their hut, looking for a victim.
There really are times we can run away but can’t hide from the punches of lightning. According to the National Center for Environmental Health, there are safety measures we can take.
The website said that there is a one in a million chance of getting hit by lighting in a year. But do not take this lightly. The website shares some safety tips:
-- Do not go out during thunderstorms (my aside: avoid taking rainshower baths when the sky roars).
-- Seek shelter inside offices, houses, malls.
-- If you are outdoors, and there is no safe place to hide, do the following: leave high places such as rooftops, hills, or mountains; never lie flat on the ground but crouch, tucking your hands and head over your ears to reduce ground contact; do not hide under a tree (or a lean-to) or a cliff overhang (maybe include store or house overhang); if there is a group of you, separate from one another to minimize contact; and avoid open water, telephone (or even electric) posts, motorcycles, porches, fields, parks and any open spaces.