Centre of Excellence in Lightning Protection, Malaysia - 2010

Lightning Risk in Sri Lanka

Dr. Chandima Gomes PhD, CEng, CPhys, MIET, MIinstP, MIP Associate Professor, Universiti Putra Malaysia Chandima@eng.upm.edu.my Lightning kills over 70 people every year in Sri Lanka. The annual property damage may exceed several hundreds of million Rupees. The indirect effects of lightning such as out-of-operation time in the industrial, banking and other service sectors due to damaged equipment will be much higher. Therefore, the general public should pay extra attention on lightning protection. According to the data available to us in Sri Lanka, the areas with highest record of lightning damage are Kalutara, Matugama, Horana, Padukka, Ingiriya, Bulathsinghala, Avissawella, Yatiyantota, Akuressa, Malabe, Biyagama, Weliveriya, Yakkala, Nittambuwa, Katunayake Colombo, Ratmalana. However there are many small pockets all over the country where severe lightning damage has been reported. Although the acute lightning seasons in the country are March, April and October, November, for the last few years we observe thunderstorm activities scattered through out the year. Lightning is a complicated way of transferring electric charge from cloud to earth. In a lightning strike a current as large as 30,000 Amperes flows to earth. Many domestic appliances require a current of less than 15 Amperes for their operation. In the event of a lightning strike the temperature around the area reaches to about 40,000 degrees Celsius. We know that water boils at 100 degrees Celsius and the temperature of the surface of the Sun is about 6000 degrees Celsius. When lightning strikes a human being he may be killed, badly injured or saved with few skin burns. When lightning strikes a building, it may explode, catch fire or left with few cracks on the walls. However, most often when a building is lightning struck, many of the electrical and electronic appliances housed in the building will be destroyed. Equipment may also be damaged by large current pulses that may come through service lines such as electricity and telephone, if lightning strikes close to such service lines. The people should not stay at open areas such as playgrounds, outdoor recreational areas, paddy fields and other agricultural fields, beaches, river banks, open roads etc. under thunderstorm conditions. They should also avoid higher elevations such as mountain tops, roof tops etc. One of the most important rules of lightning safety is to avoid seeking shelter under large trees during thunde rstorm pe riods. Once a tree is subjected to a lightning strike the large current that flowing along the tree trunk may jump to the bodies of the people who gather around the tree. One should also avoid taking bath in an open pool under thunderstorm conditions. A person may be drowned to death if he falls unconscious in an unattended environment while he is taking a bath or s wim in a pool (even if the water is only a couple of feet high). Therefore you better avoid being even in an indoor pool, especially when you are alone.

Centre of Excellence in Lightning Protection, Malaysia - 2010

When the lightning is striking around, avoid using telephones or wired microphones. However, there is no additional lightning threat of using mobile phones, codeless phones or FM microphones. Nevertheless, it should be noted that the person who handles the electronics of the public addressing system is at a risk of getting a shock if the system is connected to the electricity service. If your trip s witch gets off under thunderstorm condition keep it off until the storm is over. Staying for 30 minutes in darkness may be much better than lying on a hospital bed for weeks. Do not try to repa ir electrical items or telephone system when the lightning is in action. Once lightning strikes a structure, the current is most likely to flow along metal parts such as railings, fences etc. Therefore, avoid touching or staying very close to such parts. It should also be noted that structures with metal roofs are very much likely to attract lightning. If the roof is fixed on a structure which is not properly earthed, the occupants will be at a great risk of getting side flashes. Never sleep on floor when thunder is roaring around. As soon as you hear thunder, keep yourself inside a sturdy building or a metallic enclosure such as a car with metallic body, train, bus etc. However, open roof or convertible vehicles such as tractors, trailers, cars with foldable roofs, golf carts etc. are not safe. Strictly avoid being inside camping tents and temporary huts. Avoid open stages, and gathering for meetings and rallies. During the acute lightning seasons most of the thunderstorm activities take place in the evening. Therefore plan your outdoor activities accordingly. In order to protect buildings against lightning, a structural protection system should be installed at the building. Such a system consists of a number of metal rods installed at the roof level and an array of copper tapes (called down conductors) that connect those metal rods to an earthing network. Those who seek lightning protection should ensure that the lightning protection consultant visit the site before he designs the system. Domestic appliances can usually be protected from lightning currents by unplugging them from service lines during thunderstorm periods. However, such an act is not realistic in most of the industrial and service sectors as even a short period of out-of-operation will cost the company a few million Rupees. Therefore in such cases, lightning surges should be prevented from entering the building. This is done by installing so called surge protection devices to the power and communication lines. In the case of surge protection, both the quality of the product and the engineering of insta llation are equally important. If you stay close to a tall communication or broadcasting towe r you have to take extra measures in protecting your equipment. This is due to the higher cha nce of lightning current flowing near to your house or factory. In case of poor earthing at the towe r base there can be a so called earth potential rise in the nearby area, so that a person outside may be subjected to a step potential. As a result, he may be injured or temporary paralyzed. Such paralysis may lead to severe injuries and even death if he is standing close to a pit or unprotected well or taking a bath in a water pool. Soon, there will be regulations and guidelines formulated in this regard in Sri Lanka. Until such time you may take precautions to prevent undesired incidents. A word of advice should be given to the authorities taking care of archeological sites in Sri Lanka as well. For thousands of years our archeological structures and monuments survived severe weather conditions and we have very good records of lightning related damage (very few incidents) to such sites. However, during the recent past a number of archeological sites have been installed with roofing to protect the monuments from natural processes such as rain and intense sun light. However, one should note that most of these roofing are steel structures so that they have elevated the chances of attracting lightning. If such a structure is not properly grounded there can be disastrous consequences in the event of a lightning strike. 2