![]() ![]() Among the immediate causes are hurricanes, broken dams or levees, defective drainage systems, and sudden winter thaws, as well as heavy rain. Vulnerability to flooding varies with local conditions and is based on a number of factors: rainfall, river-flow and tidal-surge conditions, topography, flood-control measures, and changes due to building and excavation. Damage from flooding, however, is rarely covered in homeowner’s and business insurance policies. Flash floods in particular are among the most frequent and deadly of weather-related hazards. In the last 10 years, they have occurred in every one of the fifty states and caused nearly $24 billion in losses. August 2, 2000: Seventeen teenagers were injured when lightning struck a tree at Astroworld (Harris County) in the afternoon.Floods are the most common of natural disasters in the United States, and consequences can be severe. September 14, 2004: One fatality and forty injuries resulted from an afternoon lightning strike during a high school football practice in Grapeland (Houston County). May 13, 2007: Four people were injured from a afternoon lightning strike at Bear Creek Park (Harris County). June 5, 2007: An early morning lightning strike injured a man who was lying on the beach a few miles southwest of the mouth of the Colorado River (Matagorda County). October 7, 2007: An afternoon lightning strike in Danburry (Brazoria County) killed a man who was standing underneath a tree. The victim had burns on his torso from a mid morning lightning strike. June 3, 2009: A male jogger was found dead on Crystal Beach (Bolivar Peninsula, Galveston County). The male's injuries proved fatal almost one month later. September 9, 2010: On an elementary school soccer field in Porter (Montgomery County), a 21 year old male and a 9 year old female were struck by an early evening lightning strike. The man was initially revived at the scene but died the next day. June 30, 2012: A utility worker was killed while repairing a power line in northeast Harris County. The two men had been playing in a soccer match and sheltered under a tree on the perimeter of the soccer field when the storm began. What are some lightning events that have impacted Southeast Texas? July 15, 2012: Two men died when they were struck by lightning while sheltering under a tree during a thunderstorm. Avoid using telephones and electrical appliances during a thunderstorm. If a closed building is not available, a closed automobile is your next best option for a relatively safe place when lightning occurs. Stay away from metal objects such as fences, railroad tracks and metal bleachers. Remember, when thunder roars, go indoors! and stay away from trees, power poles, antennae and away from lakes ponds and water. If you hear thunder or know a thunderstorm is nearby or approaching, you should immediately take shelter in a building. Lightning can strike several miles away from a thunderstorm. The Gulf coast has the highest incidences of lightning strikes annually throughout the U.S. The late afternoon or early evening hours during the summer are the most common times for lightning casualties nationwide, but they can occur just about any time of year near the Gulf coast. Most lightning deaths or injuries occur when people are on a golf course, near water, or standing under trees for shelter. Lightning results from the buildup and discharge of electrical energy between positive and negatively charged areas. The southeast Texas area averages 50 to 60 days with thunderstorms per year. An estimated 100,000 thunderstorms occur nationwide each year. An average 49 deaths and hundreds more injuries occur around the U.S. Lightning fatalities for 2016 from NOAA (right) Lightning Fatalities for 2016 by state from NOAA (left) and U.S. ![]()
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