The importance of lightning education and a lightning protection risk assessment to reduce fatalities

Abstract

There has been a decrease in lightning strike fatalities in developing countries in recent years, but for less-developed countries, lightning fatalities remain a great concern. The education of people concerning lightning and lightning safety must be a priority to government and non-governmental organizations, especially with major projects moving to rural areas. At Medupi Power Station project in South Africa, two structures were evaluated for lightning safety and the risk to loss of human life, by making use of SANS (South African National Standard) for a lightning protection risk assessment. One other case study was assessed for relevance on the information distributed with regards to lightning education. Results indicate that a lightning protection risk assessment plays an important role to ensure the safety of people in permanent and temporary structures. Lightning educational information must be scientifically correct, relevant to the people being educated and must address different cultural believes and myths.