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we have had three homes get struck by lightning in our neighborhood over the past year....the worst was last weeks storm that struck a house on the next street while they were on vacation and it wasnt noticed until the next day. The house was ruined on the inside by water damage and has to be completely rebuilt.
Is this normal for NC? Is there anything that can be done to mitigate the possibility of strikes on our house? Do Lightning rods work? I wonder if there is something near our neighborhood that is attacting the strikes? I see a cell tower in the distance over the trees. Is that attaracting it?
Its so scary!
Last edited by mcfamilyof4; 07-15-2008 at 10:28 AM..
Reason: misspellings..
A house four doors down from my house burned down a couple of weeks ago after being struck by lightning. It was everyone's worse nightmare. To get a call while you are on vacation telling you that your house burned down while you were away. It makes me so sad every time I see it.
According to a woman from the fire department my neighborhood and Southern Village often get hit by lightning! Not something I wanted to hear.
We had a lightning sensor (or something like that) in our attic hooked up to our security system. We did it because a coworker of my husband's lost her house to fire (started in the attic) in Raleigh because of lightning and we have two small children at the other end of the hall. I think it cost less than $100.
I'm no expert, but I doubt very much that anything is 'attracting' the lightning. If it were, it would be taking the hits!
More likely, we're in an area where there are a lot of thunderstorms this time of year.
Lightning rods can mitigate a lot of damage, but they need to be grounded really well. I would think probably thick copper braid. Don't know if you're checked out copper prices lately, but there's a reason foreclosed homes are being stripped of their plumbing.
My husband mentioned that all the electronics in his boss's house got fried. Apparently, lightning strikes his house (in Fuquay) once every year. Even though some suggested having lighning rods, he has refrained from installing it in his property. Quite scary! I wonder if insurance will cover the damage.
Invisible dog fences can attract lightning toward them. My sister-in-law lives on a large piece of property and they were experiencing frequent strikes with no explanation. It stopped when they turned the system off.
I'm not sure if this is an old wives tales or not. But in growing up in ENC near the coast, my parents and grandparents use to always say that lightning will "usually" hit the tallest object. We had several lightning strikes hit pine trees around my parents home but never the house. Our neighbor had cleared their lot of pine trees and the house was the tallest thing on their lot. Their house did get hit twice, but they also had a big TV antenna, which was the problem one of the times.
I would call your home insurance agent and find out what they suggest. They probably can pull up data about the susceptiblity of your area too.
Does anyone know if insurance covers that? I would think so, but I have nightmares about it being some "act of God" clause....
One thing though...
Quote:
“We certainly recommend that a fire alarm system be installed in your home if you don't have one, with an emphasis on a heat detection system inside your attic spaces,” said Battalion Chief Peter Brock, with the Raleigh Fire Department.
Lightning is attracted to water, Brock added.
I don't think Brock is qualified to be making such statements, and I don't think that's exactly true. From everything I've read, water that isn't pure can be ionized and a decent conductor - but not as good as metal, or the highest object.
Does anyone know if insurance covers that? I would think so, but I have nightmares about it being some "act of God" clause....
Aren't floods, felled trees, sewer backups, etc acts of God? insurance protects against those...
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