The City of Ekurhuleni urges its residents to be cautious as lighting and thunderstorms are expected to hit parts of Gauteng in the coming days.
Lightning is a sudden electrostatic discharge that occurs typically during a thunderstorm.
This discharge occurs between electrically charged regions of a cloud, between two clouds, or between a cloud and the ground.
This can lead to serious injury or in the extreme, death, if it hits someone.
• Lightning safety tips:
How to avoid getting hit by lightning:
Do:
• Lightning often strikes the tallest object in the area during thunderstorms, so stay away from open fields or hilltops.
• Check weather forecasts daily and avoid going to a swimming pool, river, lake, or beach on rainy days and refrain from water sport activities on rainy days.
• If you find yourself in open water during a thunderstorm, return to land immediately.
• Look for a low-lying area like a valley or gulley, preferably obscured from the rain. Take refuge in there until the storm passes.
• Crouch down with your heels touching and your head between your knees – this will make you a smaller target.
• If you are in a boat and cannot return to safety, drop anchor and crouch as low as possible.
• Turn off and stay away from wired electronics.
• Important: Umbrellas can increase your risk of getting hit if it is the tallest object in the area.
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Don’t:
During thunderstorms, lightning can travel through water pipes if it strikes your home.
• Do not bath or shower until the storm has passed.
• Do not swim or partake in water sports during thunderstorms.
• Indoor swimming is equally unsafe. Avoid all large bodies of water during thunderstorms.
• Do not lie down flat, always minimise your contact with the ground. Lightning can be fatal up to 30m away from the initial strike.
• Do not stand near or under trees or tall isolated objects. Such are more likely to be struck by lightning.
• Wherever you are don’t become the highest object.
• Avoid using TVs, washing machines, and corded phones during thunderstorms.
Also read: Pool safety tips that can save your life
Warnings:
• Do not return to the body of water until 30 minutes after the last lightning strike.
• Lightning can, and often does, strike the same place twice. You are not safe just because lightning recently struck an area.
• If your hair stands up or you feel tingling during a thunderstorm, go indoors immediately. This sign means a lightning strike is imminent.
• You are within striking distance of lightning if you can hear thunder.
• Although cellphones are safe to use during thunderstorms, landline phones are unsafe.
• Most lightning deaths occur during the summer months when outdoor activity and thunderstorms reach a seasonal high.
• Stay away from pools when there is lightning or thunder.
Ekurhuleni Disaster and Emergency Management Services (DEMS) remains on high alert for any eventualities that might occur as a result of a lightning strike.
Communities affected by lightning strikes or any life-threatening emergencies are advised to call the Emergency Life-Threatening Call Centre immediately for swift intervention.
• In case of emergencies: call 011 458 0911, 112 from a cellphone or the national emergency number 10177.
• Ensure that you have the emergency call centre contact numbers readily and clearly displayed for everyone to know and to use.
• Numbers should be saved and easy to access on your telephone or cellular phone.
• Speak clearly on the phone when reporting an emergency.
• Provide the operators with all the necessary details required.
• Do not end the conversation until all questions are answered.
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