When lightning strikes land it dissipates through the surrounding ground.

How does lightning kill you. 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 injuriesGround current also kills many farm animals. Lightning rarely hits people directly but such strikes are almost always fatal. The question is if youre in the water near the lightning.

The human body doesnt store electricity. A typical lightning flash is about 300 million volts and about 30000 amps. Compare this to the current we use at our homes which is just 120 volts and 15 amps.

The electrical energy after hitting a large object such as a tree on Earth spreads laterally on the ground for some distance and people in this area receive electrical shocks. The electric current has to pass through your body to do you any harm and the conducting sea water will carry a. A lightning strike can act as a massive fibrillator upsetting the hearts electrical rhythm and causing cardiac arrest.

Myth 7 If you touch a lightning victim youll be electrocuted. We know that water is a good conductor of electricity so if lightning strikes water it will generate a current. How often does lightning strike and how powerful is it.

Between 1959 and 2003 or cause cardiac arrest. Scientists at Northwestern Normal University in Lanzhou China recorded ball lightning during a thunderstorm in Qinghai when they were mapping radiation. About 10 percent of lightning-stroke victims are killed and 70 percent suffer serious long-term effects.

Wait 30 minutes after the last rumble of thunder to go back outside. How Does Lightning Kill. Lightning can kill people 3696 deaths were recorded in the US.