Lightning Awareness Week takes place June 19-25

Residents Reminded to Educate Themselves on What to Do During Severe Weather

The City of Naperville reminds all residents to educate themselves on how to stay safe from the dangers of lightning during Lightning Awareness Week taking place from June 19-25, 2011.

“This spring has been very active in terms of thunderstorms and inclement weather,” Community Relations Manager Nadja Lalvani said. “On average, 58 people are killed in the United States each year by lightning, and many more are permanently injured. I encourage everyone to review lightning safety tips as we enter the active summer thunderstorm season and use common sense when severe weather approaches.”

The city offers the following tips from the National Weather Service to keep individuals safe from lightning:

• Watch for developing thunderstorms and monitor the weather. Thunderstorms are most likely to develop on spring or summer days but can occur year round.

• Have a lightning safety plan that allows adequate time to seek shelter. No place outside is safe when thunderstorms are in the area.

• If you can hear thunder, you are within striking distance of lightning. Seek shelter immediately. Fully enclosed, substantial buildings provide the best protection. Picnic shelters, sheds, tents or covered porches do not protect you from lightning. If a sturdy building is unavailable, locate a hard-topped metal vehicle and close all the windows. Wait 30 minutes after the last clap of thunder to go outside.

• Minimize the risk of being struck by lightning during outdoor activities. Activities should be suspended once thunder is heard so that participants can seek shelter.

• Your best line of defense will always be in a sturdy building or all-metal vehicle. Never lie flat on the ground, never use a tree and never use a cliff or rocky overhang for shelter. Immediately get out and away from ponds, lakes and other bodies of water. Stay away from objects that conduct electricity, such as power lines.

• If inside a building, stay off corded phones, computers or other electrical equipment that allows for direct contact with electricity. Cordless phones and cell phones are safe. Stay away from pools (indoor or outdoor), tubs, showers and other plumbing. Stay away from windows and doors, and stay off porches. Do not lie on concrete floors, and do not lean against concrete walls.

• Purchase surge protectors for electronic equipment in your home, and install ground fault protectors on circuits located near water or in the outdoors.

• If someone is struck by lightning, they need urgent medical attention. Lightning victims do not carry an electrical charge and are safe to touch. Some deaths can be prevented with proper first aid care. Call 9-1-1 immediately and perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) if the victim is unresponsive or not breathing. Use an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) if available.

The city encourages all residents to develop a safety plan for use in your home, workplace, school and vehicle. The city has produced an Emergency Preparedness Guide to assist residents in creating a plan. A copy of this document is available on the city's website at www.naperville.il.us/emergencyprepguide.aspx. More information on lightning safety is available from the National Weather Service at www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/.

For more information on Emergency Preparedness, visit the city's website at www.naperville.il.us/nema.aspx. For more information on the City of Naperville, visit www.naperville.il.us. Sign up to receive the latest news on the City of Naperville's projects and initiatives via e-mail at www.naperville.il.us/enews.aspx.