What If You Get Struck By Lightning? What REALLY Happens?

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00:00Globally, there are approximately 1.4 billion lightning strikes each year, averaging about

00:0644 per second.

00:08One bolt is around 53,000 degrees Fahrenheit, and five times hotter than the surface of

00:14the sun.

00:15The chances of lightning striking you are around 1 in 1.2 million for any given year.

00:22But do you think you could survive if it did happen?

00:27Famously, the chances are low that you ever actually will get struck by lightning at all.

00:35Estimates vary, but we're talking between 1 in 300,000 and 1 in 1 million or more that

00:42it would happen to you during any one year.

00:47This blink-and-you'll-miss-it phenomenon is so rare, in fact, that it's almost universally

00:53used as the measuring stick that almost every other rare thing possible is held up against.

01:00Will I win the lottery this week?

01:02I'm more likely to get struck by lightning, or so the saying goes.

01:07Nevertheless, we still aren't dealing with impossibilities here.

01:11Many people, thousands of people even, have been struck by lightning before.

01:17And perhaps surprisingly, most do survive.

01:22The majority of statistics calculate that while 1 in 10 events do kill those that are

01:28hit, 9 in 10 are left alive, although with effects and injuries of varying severity.

01:35In all cases, what the body goes through is extremely tough.

01:41Often it's a life-changing experience, triggering disabilities and conditions that remain forever.

01:48Broadly, the impact can be split into two.

01:52The physical and the mental.

01:55And physically speaking, there are two main areas of concern.

02:00The burns and the current.

02:02The burns are pretty self-explanatory, but they can be pretty horrific all the same.

02:08On average, there are around 1 billion joules of energy in any one bolt of lightning.

02:16Estimates reckon at around 30 million volts.

02:19Given the instant in which it hits, it can carry temperatures that are hotter than those

02:24on the surface of the sun.

02:27Clearly, the human body is not built to withstand even close to that.

02:32And so, in some cases, although rare, a lightning strike could literally set you on fire.

02:41Those instances are usually more dependent on the surrounding conditions, however.

02:45With, say, conductive materials combined to encase you within a hellish ball of spreading flame.

02:53Here, in the best-case scenario, if you remain conscious enough, you'd find somewhere to

02:59escape to as quickly as you can.

03:01In the worst case, it's a death not unlike being tossed into a volcano.

03:08As more people survive lightning strikes than succumb to them, however, it's not as though

03:12all events are quite so extreme.

03:16In fact, no one event is the same as another, as so many depends on the specific circumstances,

03:24including, again, the surrounding environment, but also what the person is wearing, how exactly

03:31the electricity passes through them, and what happens immediately afterwards.

03:37More often than not, it isn't straight-up fire and explosions.

03:42There just isn't enough time for that, with the electricity passing through in milliseconds.

03:48In some cases, it can even be difficult to recognize that a person has been struck by

03:53lightning at all.

03:55But in all cases, identifying what happened is key, in the short and long term.

04:03In general, if you want to live and recover, you need to find help fast.

04:09But that's incredibly difficult to do if, say, your own skin is literally blistering

04:15away, or if you're out cold and actually completely unaware of what's just happened

04:20to you, or if the experience has understandably left you dazed and unsure.

04:26Indeed, when the worst does happen, and a victim does die, it's sometimes in part because

04:33they're struck by lightning in an isolated location, perhaps across a wide-open rural

04:39and sparsely populated landscape.

04:42Under those conditions, they often just can't get to where they need to be.

04:48Upon finding help, or upon being found, however, you better hope that whoever it is you've

04:54crossed paths with knows their stuff.

04:57First off, and even without immediately obvious burns, there could be telltale signs all over

05:03your body.

05:05Specified lightning burns can set in within a few minutes or, more commonly, a few hours.

05:12These are a spreading, almost network of thin red lines branching across the skin.

05:19What they actually reveal are the burst capillaries underneath the skin, ruptured by the lightning

05:25itself.

05:26More than anything else, they're an iconic, immediately identifiable symptom of being

05:32struck by lightning.

05:34Crucially, all official guidelines recommend that it is safe to approach and touch someone

05:40who has just suffered a lightning strike, even a direct hit.

05:44The human body does not store electrical charge, so the power of the bolt will have passed

05:50through.

05:51If the person is found to be without a pulse, then CPR should be started immediately, according

05:57to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

06:01And here we move on to the other key factor as to how a lightning strike plays out, how

06:06the current within passes through your body.

06:10All of your major organs are at risk in some way or another, but the most important, in

06:16terms of living or dying, is the heart.

06:20Those who get struck by lightning often suffer cardiac arrest as a result.

06:25Such unexpected power dealt by nature simply isn't something that our hearts are anticipating

06:31or are built to withstand.

06:33And even if you don't suffer cardiac arrest straight away, it is vital that you're tested

06:40as soon as possible.

06:41Your heart may not have stopped completely, but it's possible, even likely, that your

06:47body will display tremors, murmurs, and fluctuations, all of which could cause more major issues

06:54at any moment.

06:56Understandably, there is significant internal trauma elsewhere too, which can manifest in

07:01various ways.

07:03The shockwave of a lightning strike is enough to take out your hearing, usually temporarily,

07:09sometimes permanently.

07:11The same wave of energy can affect your bones, joints, and muscles, even long after the strike

07:17occurs.

07:18Involuntary twitching isn't only a stereotype as seen in movies.

07:23There is a chance that your body really will react that way, as it tries to make sense

07:28of what's happened to it.

07:30There's pressure on your lungs, on your rib cage, your digestive system, your nervous

07:35system.

07:36Blurred vision is another potential knock-on effect, again, typically for a short while

07:41afterwards, but sometimes for longer, or forever.

07:46Essentially, nothing within your body goes untouched or unscathed.

07:51The psychological strain is more difficult to pinpoint, despite hundreds of cases now

07:56contributing to what we know.

07:58Generally, mood disorders are common in those who have been struck by lightning in the past.

08:04Some vague confusion is expected, especially at the time or soon afterwards, while mental

08:11and physical fatigue is also often reported.

08:15Some version of memory loss is usually cited as well, with many people even left completely

08:21unable to recall the moment of the strike or the time leading up to it.

08:26Unsurprisingly, there are some cases of post-traumatic stress disorder, while fears, phobias, and

08:33anxieties are often heightened way beyond anything experienced before the lightning

08:38hit.

08:39How do you think you would react if you were ever struck by lightning?

08:43How would it make you feel about future storms, about being outside, or about electrical products

08:48or environments in general?

08:50Let us know in the comments.

08:52For now, getting struck by lightning is still an exceptionally rare event, and even if it

08:58does happen to you, you are much more likely to live than die.

09:05The data isn't evenly spread.

09:07Lightning injuries are more common in some countries than others, mostly due to the differing

09:12weather patterns to begin with.

09:14But to end on some good news, these kinds of events are decreasing across the board.

09:21The global population today has a better understanding of how to stay safe in a lightning storm,

09:26structures are built to better withstand the dangers, and when there is a hit, we're

09:32better prepared to react and hopefully save those affected.

09:37That's what happens when you get struck by lightning.

09:42What do you think?

09:43Is there anything we missed?

09:45Let us know in the comments.

09:47Check out these other clips from Unveiled, and make sure you subscribe and ring the bell

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