Lightning strike neart caravan puts occupants in hospital
D and D said
12:05 AM Dec 30, 2013
TWO men have been rushed to hospital after a lightning bolt struck the ground outside a caravan they were in on the Sunshine Coast.
A Department of Community Safety spokeswoman said the two men were inside a caravan at the Cotton Tree Holiday Park when the lightning struck about 8.20pm. One of the men, aged in his 70s, was experiencing chest pain while the other man, aged in his 40s, had no obvious injuries.
Both were taken to the Nambour General Hospital in a stable condition.
Hi! I hope these people who have been struck by lightning in the last few weeks and have survived don't suffer side effects
I was struck in 1982 while fitting a stone protector guard to the bonnet of my new Falcon station wagon.
I was taken to the Mater Hospital in Brisbane and awoke with a cardiograph machine attached.
That was when I panicked because of all the wires and believed they were trying to electrocute me.
The strike hadn't damaged my heart, so I was allowed to go home.
I was a bit muddled, and was angry because I wanted to go see a model train show and no one would go with me.
No one would go because there wasn't one. I imagined there was and demanded to see it.
later (10 weeks) I realized I couldn't spell and later I could see clearly, I could no longer remember words to songs and couldn't
learn and remember new songs. I could no longer play my accordion or piano and sing (which I had done for close 50 years)
I have learned to spell reasonably well (thank to computer spell check) and I wear franklin lens glasses not bi-focal because
the muscles in my eyes were damaged by the lightning so I need prisms in the bottom lenses to read, but not the top for distance.
I have lost lots of memories about events through life and still can't learn and remember poems or words to songs, I have problems with filling in forms,
I lose track in conversation at times, but after 10 seconds I get back on track. I can't smile like I did and look sad because of lack of use to some of my face muscles.
BUT I am happy and I have a good life ( at least I am still alive) So all who have experienced being struck don't be surprised if you have some problems later.
You may lose some things, but there plenty of good things left like travelling this great country.
Cheers Colin
-- Edited by qutas on Monday 30th of December 2013 10:45:18 AM
Vic41 said
01:35 PM Dec 30, 2013
Cripes Colin, you were lucky to be here, I didn't imagine a strike could have all those after effects.
I got bowled over by ball lightning while sitting on a wooden camping chair in the bush, hit the ground that hard it broke the back slats of the chair I was sitting on. I couldn't move or speak, but gradually the feelings and my voice came back after laying there for awhile.
Luckily I did not have any more side effects after that I can recall, although I do have a loss of some childhood memories and others, I hadn't thought of that before, may have been from the strike.
Gerty Dancer said
07:50 PM Dec 30, 2013
Geez Colin, that's not good, after all these years, and still have after-effects.
I knew a man who had an electric shock from the telephone in a thunderstorm... he's completely deaf in that ear, and had dreadful headaches. So in a thunderstorm don't use a phone with a cord!
D and D said
08:41 PM Dec 30, 2013
These after effects of lightning strike are not uncommon among victims - see here for stories from and international conference of survivors of lightning strike and this article from snopes describes some of the way lightning can impact on electrical circuits.
Vic41 said
11:48 PM Dec 30, 2013
Gerty Dancer wrote:
So in a thunderstorm don't use a phone with a cord!
When I was bowled over I was talking on a field telephone (army exercise) which had cables strung to other users, the current must have run down the line as the arm I was holding the phone with took about an hour before I was able to bend or use it. When I went over backwards in the chair (breaking the slats), it yanked the phone out of my hand so maybe that saved me.
Although I have hearing problems now, I don't recall having hearing problems afterwards, as a matter of fact I could hear the voice of the person I was talking to speaking on the phone asking if I was ok, the phone was laying on the ground near my ear, but I couldn't move for awhile. They had no shock at their end.
When it happened there was a flash of white light and someone told me they thought the line had been struck by ball lightning.
Here is a US site on some precautions, see the photo of the cows;
I've been told that other things to avoid in a "safe" house during lightning activity is anything that is grounded, for example the metal plumbing.
Lightning also jumps open switches, so don't think that your appliances (or you) are safe if you simply switch them off at the power point. Pull the plug out.
Ontos45 said
09:18 AM Dec 31, 2013
At least your all alive unlike that Dad with his son who was struck on the beach. Just arrived and watching fishermen with his son, bang, out-off no where a bolt of lightning strikes him, kills him and throws his son 30 metres, unhurt. Closest storm was on horizon.
Delta18 said
03:12 PM Jan 1, 2014
How is the bad luck of this guy, struck three times in a short time.
TWO men have been rushed to hospital after a lightning bolt struck the ground outside a caravan they were in on the Sunshine Coast.
A Department of Community Safety spokeswoman said the two men were inside a caravan at the Cotton Tree Holiday Park when the lightning struck about 8.20pm.
One of the men, aged in his 70s, was experiencing chest pain while the other man, aged in his 40s, had no obvious injuries.
Both were taken to the Nambour General Hospital in a stable condition.
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/lightning-strike-hits-two-people-as-storms-sweep-through-southeast-queensland-after-sweltering-day/story-fnkt21jb-1226791533644
Hi! I hope these people who have been struck by lightning in the last few weeks and have survived don't suffer side effects
I was struck in 1982 while fitting a stone protector guard to the bonnet of my new Falcon station wagon.
I was taken to the Mater Hospital in Brisbane and awoke with a cardiograph machine attached.
That was when I panicked because of all the wires and believed they were trying to electrocute me.
The strike hadn't damaged my heart, so I was allowed to go home.
I was a bit muddled, and was angry because I wanted to go see a model train show and no one would go with me.
No one would go because there wasn't one. I imagined there was and demanded to see it.
later (10 weeks) I realized I couldn't spell and later I could see clearly, I could no longer remember words to songs and couldn't
learn and remember new songs. I could no longer play my accordion or piano and sing (which I had done for close 50 years)
I have learned to spell reasonably well (thank to computer spell check) and I wear franklin lens glasses not bi-focal because
the muscles in my eyes were damaged by the lightning so I need prisms in the bottom lenses to read, but not the top for distance.
I have lost lots of memories about events through life and still can't learn and remember poems or words to songs, I have problems with filling in forms,
I lose track in conversation at times, but after 10 seconds I get back on track. I can't smile like I did and look sad because of lack of use to some of my face muscles.
BUT I am happy and I have a good life ( at least I am still alive) So all who have experienced being struck don't be surprised if you have some problems later.
You may lose some things, but there plenty of good things left like travelling this great country.
Cheers Colin
-- Edited by qutas on Monday 30th of December 2013 10:45:18 AM
Cripes Colin, you were lucky to be here, I didn't imagine a strike could have all those after effects.
I got bowled over by ball lightning while sitting on a wooden camping chair in the bush, hit the ground that hard it broke the back slats of the chair I was sitting on. I couldn't move or speak, but gradually the feelings and my voice came back after laying there for awhile.
Luckily I did not have any more side effects after that I can recall, although I do have a loss of some childhood memories and others, I hadn't thought of that before, may have been from the strike.
I knew a man who had an electric shock from the telephone in a thunderstorm... he's completely deaf in that ear, and had dreadful headaches. So in a thunderstorm don't use a phone with a cord!
These after effects of lightning strike are not uncommon among victims - see here for stories from and international conference of survivors of lightning strike and this article from snopes describes some of the way lightning can impact on electrical circuits.
When I was bowled over I was talking on a field telephone (army exercise) which had cables strung to other users, the current must have run down the line as the arm I was holding the phone with took about an hour before I was able to bend or use it. When I went over backwards in the chair (breaking the slats), it yanked the phone out of my hand so maybe that saved me.
Although I have hearing problems now, I don't recall having hearing problems afterwards, as a matter of fact I could hear the voice of the person I was talking to speaking on the phone asking if I was ok, the phone was laying on the ground near my ear, but I couldn't move for awhile. They had no shock at their end.
When it happened there was a flash of white light and someone told me they thought the line had been struck by ball lightning.
Here is a US site on some precautions, see the photo of the cows;
http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/outdoors.htm
Lightning also jumps open switches, so don't think that your appliances (or you) are safe if you simply switch them off at the power point. Pull the plug out.
How is the bad luck of this guy, struck three times in a short time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIEokJ_ZxKE
Cheers Neil
<edit> Just realised that this video may be faked. Still looks real though.
-- Edited by Delta18 on Wednesday 1st of January 2014 03:24:13 PM