Is your home prepared for a lightning strike? The fact is, heavy storms and lightning can cause serious damage all year long. A as result, you need to ensure your home doesn’t fall victim to the damages lightning is known for.
The Power of a Lightning Strike
There are quite a few insurance claims filed each year due to lightning damage. What many people have in common is how surprised they are regarding the power of a lighting strike. It can hit your lawn, a transformer or a tree and cause the ground to be energized with more than 50,000 volts. As lightning travels through a home or electric and phone lines, it can move multiple directions. As a result, one strike can have far-reaching effects.
Electrical Surge Damage
If lightning happens to hit your home, it may sound similar to a bomb exploding and the impact may shake your home as it moves through the conductive materials present. The power surge has the ability to blow your electrical equipment off the walls, knock down your lighting fixtures, scorch outlets and melt wires. It can ruin your expensive appliances, fry flat screens and create a number of fire hazards. Lightning strikes may also generate extreme shock waves that can rock your home to its very foundation. The same force that creates a loud clap of thunder can fracture concrete and brick, shattering glass and knocking over chimneys.
What to Do After a Lightning Strike
The biggest danger after a lightning surge is the risk of fire. If the wiring behind your walls is damaged, it can short-circuit days or even weeks after the strike actually occurred. If your home ever happens to be hit by a lightning strike, be sure to follow the steps here:
- Be sure that everyone in the home is safe.
- Contact your local fire department.
- Evacuate the house until you have the all-clear to go back in.
- Unplug all of the appliances and your electrical devices.
- Call and electrician to arrange for an inspection.
- Consider staying somewhere else until all the work for the damage is done.
Call for a Professional Inspection and Repair
You may not see any scorch marks on your switches or melted metal in the outlets, but you cannot risk living with any damage to your wiring because of a lighting strike. It’s crucial that you have the integrity of your electrical system confirmed by a licensed electrician to ensure that everything is working properly.
An electrician will provide a complete inspection that will include testing the conductor material insulation and resistance and verifying connections while confirming the condition of all your switches, outlets and the home’s breaker box. They will then repair any damages, so you don’t have to worry about the possibility of a hidden fire hazard down the road. Don’t take chances when it comes to a lightning strike, call the professionals to provide the assistance you need.
