Re: Scottish Girl Killed in Cuba

[Milli]

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.   :(

[Tuss]

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.

[Bulldog]

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.

[millybess]

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.

[Bulldog]

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     :(

[Gambitt]

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.

[Bulldog]

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.