LIGHTNING INJURIES - Medicine for Mountaineering and Other Wilderness Activities - page 445

◆ The scene should be surveyed for safety and the injured individual(s) should be as-
sessed. (People who have been hit by lightning are not “electrified” and are safe to
touch and treat.)
◆ Emergencyservices(911)shouldbetelephonedassoonaspossibleinurbansituations.
◆ Those who appear dead should be treated first. Others should be made safe and stabil-
ized whenever possible.
◆ CPR or mouth-to-mouth ventilation should be initiated with precautions for the pres-
ence of blunt injuries such as fractures of the cervical spine, back, and long bones.
◆ Care should be taken to avoid hypothermia in a wet, cool environment.
◆ Rescuers must be prepared to provide prolonged resuscitation but should probably
stop after thirty minutes of chest compressions if cardiac function has not resumed.
PREVENTING LIGHTNING INJURIES
When thunder roars, go indoors!
Obviously lightning injuries should be prevented, and yet no absolutely safe refuge exists.
Withbasicsafetymeasures,includinggoingindoorswhenpossible,theriskofharmcanbe
minimized.
Flash-to-Bang
Thunder from a lightning flash travels 1 mile (1.6 km) every five seconds. (The appear-
ance of the lightning bolt is virtually instantaneous.) Counting the seconds from the visible
flash to the audible bang and dividing by five provides an approximation of the distance in
miles to the last strike. In urban areas or mountains, this may prove difficult.
30-30 Rule
If the flash-to-bang is thirty seconds or less (hence 6 miles or less), shelter should be
soughtandstayedinforaminimumofthirtyminutes,oruntilthestormhasclearlypassed.
Shelter should be entered immediately. Half the flashes in a thunderstorm are about 5.6
miles (9 km) apart. The National Severe Storms Laboratory has concluded, “It appears the
safety rules need to be modified to increase the distance from a previous flash that can be
considered relatively safe to at least 10 to 13 km (6 to 8 miles).”
Although the 30-30 rule is an excellent plan, it cannot predict the first lightning strike.
Many casualties occur before the thunderstorm has started, fewer during the rain.
However,moredeathsoccurafterthestormhaspassed.Manypeopleignorethethreatonce
precipitation has stopped and leave shelter too early.
Lightning Safe Shelters