How many people does lightning kills every year?
According to National Geographic, annually about 2,000 people are killed worldwide by lightning. According to these figures, then, the average human has roughly a one in 60,000 to 80,000 chance of falling victim to lightning in a lifetime of about 65–70 years.
Lightning damage in the U.S. - number of fatalities and injuries 1995-2021. In 2021, there were a total of 11 fatalities and 69 injuries reported due to lighting in the United States. In the previous year, there were 17 deaths and 53 injuries reported due to lightning nationwide.
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Lightning Deaths are Most Common in the Summer.
| Month | Number of Lightning Deaths, 2006–2021 |
|---|---|
| May | 43 |
| June | 99 |
National Weather Service Lightning Fatalities in 2022: 19.
Lightning is one of the leading weather-related causes of death and injury in the United States. Most people do not realize that they can be struck by lightning even when the center of a thunderstorm is 10 miles (16 kilometers) away and there are blue skies overhead.
The state with the highest count of lightning in the United States in 2021 was Texas, amounting to a sum of 41,914,516 lightning events recorded. Texas always has higher lightning count than any other state, partly due to its size and location.
Only about 10% of people who are struck by lightning are killed, leaving 90% with various degrees of disability. More recently, in the last 10 years (2009-2018), the U.S. has averaged 27 lightning fatalities.
Lightning moves about 30,000 times faster than a bullet. Thunder is the result of the rapid heating and expansion of air caused by a lightning flash.
Four Corners, Florida, outside Orlando, was found to have the highest number of strikes across the country, at 474 per square kilometer in 2022.
IN THIS FACTS + STATISTICS
In 2020 there were 17 direct lightning fatalities, compared with 20 in 2019, according to the National Weather Service. From 2010 to 2019 on average, 26 people died each year from lightning strikes in the United States.
What is the death rate of lightning strikes?
On average, 28 people in the United States die each year from lightning strikes, according to all U.S. lightning deaths reported from 2006 through 2021.
In addition, ground current can travel in garage floors with conductive materials. Because the ground current affects a much larger area than the other causes of lightning casualties, the ground current causes the most lightning deaths and injuries. Ground current also kills many farm animals.