 If someone were to say that in India, lightning results in more fatalities than floods, cyclones, heat strokes, cold and exposure or landslides, would you believe it? May be not, but it is true. Thunderstorms and lightning injure many, uproot trees, destroy houses and cause widespread devastation. Early people believed that Gods were responsible for these thunderbolts and that 'lightning stones', the spearheads of lightning bolts, could be found buried where lightning had struck. These stones were supposed to give protection from illness and evil, and were even bought to ward off evil spirits. But today we know it is not so.
Lightning occurs during thunderstorms when the rapid movement of electrically charged particles within a cloud creates a bright flash of light. It actually represents a discharge of electricity in the atmosphere, which has a tendency to flow down to the earth and hit people, buildings, trees and animals. According to a report, at any given time, there are roughly 2000 thunderstorms in progress around the earth and many of these are accompanied by lightning. When lightning strikes, natural objects such as trees, people and other animals act as conductors that disturb the electrical field and make a lightning strike more likely. The large current from a lightning bolt travels through the surface of the ground for a distance of several hundred metres around the point of impact of the bolt. The chances of a person being struck by lightning are estimated to be 1 in 600,000. Most lightning deaths and injuries occur when people are caught outdoors. It is always in your interest to scurry indoors if you are caught in a lightning storm.
If you can hear thunder, you are close enough to the storm to be struck by lightning. Go to safe shelter immediately! It is safer to run rather than walk during an overhead lightning storm. Darkening skies, Increasing wind, flashes of lightning, sound of thunder, static on your MW radio are all signs of an approaching lightning storm.
 If you have to remain outdoors and have no shelter, squat low on the ground on the balls of your feet. Place your hands on your knees with your head between them. Make yourself the smallest target possible, and minimize your contact with the ground. It is advisable to keep away from telephones, as a telephone pole can transmit electricity and cause painful shocks. Use phones ONLY in an emergency.
In case you are in a vehicle, it is better to leave the vehicle and move indoors, however if it is not possible, remain in your vehicle. You may be injured if lightning strikes your car, but you are much safer inside a vehicle than outside. Rubber-soled shoes and rubber tyres provide NO protection from lightning. However, the steel frame of a hard-topped vehicle provides increased protection if you are not touching metal. Remember the cardinal principle that electricity and water don’t mix. So in case of a lightning storm get out of water and keep away from it. Do not take a bath or shower. If you are swimming, come out of water immediately and move indoors. Lightning-struck victims carry no electrical charge and can be - and should be - attended to immediately.
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