Personal Do's and Don'ts for Thunderstorms

If you did not know it, thunderstorms on the west side of the Cascade Mountains here in Washington state are rare. However, I grew up in the Midwest (Northern Illinois) where thunderstorms in the summer were very common, generally rolling in during the late afternoon or evening.

Personal safety starts with having good information about how to protect yourself and property from these events. The following list of do's and don'ts comes from Service Master, one of the national companies called upon to clean up following a disaster, so it knows a thing or two about what works and what doesn't when it comes to water and lightning. See the list below and a couple of comments that follow it:

Do’s and Don’ts for Dealing with Thunderstorms and Lightning:

Do:

• Have a preparedness plan for storms. Conduct regular storm drills with all family members and pets.
• Have emergency supplies for power outages (72 hours of food and water per person).
• Clear rain gutters, downspouts and tarp the roof to prevent leakage and water damage inside the home.
• Utilize surge protectors. Buildings struck by lightning often experience power outages and power surges that can damage electronic devices.
• Add grounding rounds around your property to attract lightning away from your roof. Lightning tends to strike the highest object and grounding rods are a great way to divert potential damage to roofs from lightning.
• Keep mulch and gardens away from foundations. This will ensure water doesn’t run into home and business structures.
• Consider investing in – and installing - an emergency generator.
• Begin the process of cleaning up water, if flooding has occurred as soon as possible (within 24-48 hours) to avoid mold and further water damage.
• Unplug all electrical appliances if you are at risk for flooding.
• Call a professional company that has the experience, training and resources to restore your home to normal and prevent costlier damage.

 Do Not

• Don’t go outside. Thunder is often accompanied by lightning that strikes the highest object. Avoid areas where you could be the highest object.
• Don’t forget to clear away loose branches and debris from around your home or business. High winds can cause branches and debris to damage roofs and other areas of the building.
• Avoid standing near windows or doors.
• Don’t use electrical appliances, including the telephone, while at home during a thunderstorm. Stay away from the TV, sinks, radiators, stoves and small electric appliances such as radios, toasters and hair dryers.

I'll add my 2 cents. One is that with disasters increasing in size and complexity, the old standard of 72 hours or three days of disaster preparedness is perhaps the bare minimum.

We many times ignore basic precautions that come with a list like those above because we have not experienced an incident ourselves. My mother actually had a miscarriage, way back when, that was caused by talking on the phone during a thunderstorm and flames shot out of the receiver she was holding. So appropriate caution is advised, even in Western Washington.