7DaysinParadise
Cuba => Cuba => Topic started by: Steve_YYZ on July 22, 2006, 12:10:00 AM
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A sad story from the BBC International News Service
My condolences to the family.
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Lightning kills Cuba holiday girl
Friday, 21 July 2006, 16:22 GMT 17:22 UK
A nine-year-old girl from Scotland has died while on a family holiday in Cuba after being struck by lightning.
The accident happened in the Cayo Guillermo area of the country on 19 July.
Pasquale Lamanno from the Foreign Office said the child, who has not been named, died while on holiday in the area with her parents.
He said: "We are currently working to provide the family with all the consular support they may need."
(edited to add link)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/5204544.stm (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/5204544.stm)
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Yes very SAD, same thing happened close to home;
Lightning Kills Woman At Wasaga Beach
Thursday July 20, 2006
Frantic cries for help shattered the peaceful aura of a day at the beach on Thursday after a 26-year-old woman was struck by a bolt of lightning and killed on the shores of Wasaga.
The bolt struck perilously close to a baby in a carriage, who was miraculously unharmed. Two other women suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
Full Story (http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_2085.aspx)
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Both cases are so very sad and I, too, would like to add my condolences to the families.
I had not seen anything on the TV here with regard to the death of that poor Scottish girl and would not have known anything about it had Steve not posted.
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thanks Steve, I hadn't heard anything about that.
Very sad indeed. :(
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Bulldog she was the second person killed by lightning at Wasaga this year.
Crazy weather we're having. :eek:
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Lightning flashes occur in Canada about 2.7 million times a year, including about once every three seconds during the summer months. This is based on observations collected during the past five years from the Canadian lightning detection network. Lightning can be deadly. A lightning bolt can carry up to 100 million volts of electricity - a million times more powerful than household current. Each year in Canada, lightning strikes kill about half a dozen people, seriously injure about 70 others, and ignite some 4,000 forest fires. In a recent study, Environment Canada scientists identified several lightning hot spots across the country. See how often lightning strikes in your local area, check out our lightning safety tips and tune into our cross-Canada lightning detection network to see lightning as it happens.
All you would like to know about it at home ! (http://www.msc.ec.gc.ca/education/lightning/index_e.html)
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Originally posted by Bulldog:
See how often lightning strikes in your local area...and tune into our cross-Canada lightning detection network to see lightning as it happens.
Thanks, but I better not. It's our son's 18th birthday today and he and messybill are out on the golf course. :th:
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Is there any knowledge as to which resort this occured? Above the obious horror of the family I feel so sorry for the staff of the resort having to deal with all the sorrow.
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I understand from Amandaj, who lives in Scotland, that it was at the Sol, Cayo Guillermo.
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I have debated overnight whether or not I should post this link as it is so upsetting to read this terribly sad story of the tragic death of such a lovely young girl.
However I decided to go ahead as I thought that many of you would like to know exactly what happened, but please be prepared to shed a tear.
A tragic story (http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=1068762006)
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Very toughing, and thank you Bellagio. It was a nice 'sad' read
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thanks for that article bellagio.
It was a tragedy, and I can't even begin to imagine how they feel.
Heartbreaking for sure.
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Thanks for the posting, Bellagio...really makes it hit home, not just another statistic.
To think that our group was at the very place in April and we did have some stormy weather, really gives you pause for thought.
Count your blessings..
Karen :)
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Karen, you're right.
The one day we had the thunderstorm, Wendy and I were strolling along the beach in no particular hurry.
gives me shivers to think about it now.
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Thanks Ken for posting the story. It really does put the "human face" on a tragic story.
Steve
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Bellagio: Steve literally took the words right out of my mouth! That story brought the tragedy closer to home and a beautiful face to little Grace. This is devastating for her surviving family for sure and a terrible shock for those present at the resort and the attending staff. :(
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Thankyou for posting that link Bellagio. Yes, it was sad, but it was a very tasteful story that focussed on the positive; that she didn't suffer and she died in paradise with a smile on her face. If i were that mother I think i would sound much angrier at this tragity. I shed more than just 1 tear with that story.
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Wasaga Beach Deaths
An 18 year old Toronto-area man died in hospital after being recovered from Lake Huron off Wasaga Beach.
Police say he was floating on a small inflatable raft which drifted from the swimming area into deeper water.
He fell off the raft, and nearby boaters pulled him from the water.
Paramedics performed CPR on him at the scene, but he was declared dead in hospital later.
And, a lightning strike at Wasaga Beach this afternoon ( July 20th ) killed a woman and injured two others.
An OPP officer was on the scene quickly to start CPR on a 26 year old woman who had no pulse.
She was declared dead later in hospital.
A bystander says there were many people in the water, but the lightning struck the land.
It was perhaps attracted to a stroller and an umbrella.
Two injured women were also rushed to hospital suffering non-life threatening injuries.
Amazingly, a baby in a stroller within arm's reach of the women who was killed wasn't harmed.
It's the second time this summer that a lightning strike has killed someone in the community.
Another woman was killed while standing under a tree at Nancy Island last month.
Local officials are warning people to get off the beach and seek shelter if there's a thunderstorm in the area.
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Well BD, out here in Halton the sky was sunny and blue. Out of nowhere there was a big flash of lightning. People on the street started screaming. It was followed shortly after by thunder and then rain and wind. I have never seen lightning without hearing thunder off in the distance.
It is so sad about all of the incidents at Wasaga. My parents had a cottage there since before I was born. I know the area well and have spent a lot of time in the area of Nancy Island at Old Wasaga.
Very unusual and scary weather this summer.
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I have seen this smany time this summer on the Weathernetwork.com
WEATHER WATCH SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH for Barrie - Orillia - Midland >>>(>>>means press for more areas)
It has been a weird summer Millybess :(
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Here's Another one, from the Irish Examiner:
Two teenagers were killed in the US and another two injured when they were struck by lightning while seeking shelter from a storm, police said.
The youths, aged 16 to 19, were playing football outside Montvale Memorial School in New Jersey last night when they saw lightning strike nearby, police said. Two ran for shelter while two started walking off the field.
One of the teenagers who was running heard thunder and turned around to see lightning strike Lee Weisbrod, 19, and Steven Fagan, 18, knocking them to the ground, police said. The other teenager called emergency services on his mobile phone.
Police officers from Montvale and neighbouring Park Ridge arrived and tried to help the teenagers, using a defibrillator on the two more seriously injured boys.
Lee and Steven, who suffered severe burns, were taken to Pascack Valley Hospital in Westwood, where they died about an hour after the strike, authorities said.
The other teens, identified only as 16 and 19-year-olds, were taken to Valley Hospital in Ridgewood. They were said to have been in stable conditions last night, and further details on their injuries were not available.
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Lightning Statistics
One lightning casualty occurred for every 86,000 flashes in the United States
One death occurred for every 345,000 flashes
One injury occurred for every 114,000 flashes
Overall, a rate of 7.7 casualties per million people per 100 million flashes was found for the entire United States.
A very frequently asked question is "How likely am I to be struck by lightning?" This is a seemingly simple question, but there is no single answer that fits everyone. The average annual per capita strike rate in the United States is around 1 in 600,000. However, this DOES NOT mean your odds of being struck are 1 in 600,000.
The odds of being struck vary from person to person, and are determined by a number of different factors. Among the most significant are:
Geographical location and climatology
Diurnal and annual climatology
Personal lifestyle/hobbies
Number of thunderstorms occurring at any given moment: 2000
Number of lightning strikes every second: 100
Number of lightning strikes per day: 8 Million
Number of lightning strikes in the USA per year: 20 Million
Number of VOLTS in a lightning flash: 1 Billion
Number of AMPS in a lighting flash: between 10,000 and 200,000
The average lightning flash would light a 100 watt light bulb for 3 months.