Tips: How to not get struck by lightning

Wednesday, August 24th, 2011 02:02:00

KUALA LUMPUR: The public is advised to take precautions during storms for safety against lightning.

The Meteorological Department advises that handphones not be used and electrical items be switched off with the plugs to be unplugged during stormy weather.

In view of the current wet weather, the public should also check weather reports if they were going to be outdoors for long, the department said in a statement here Tuesday.

It also advised the people, when outdoors, if they feel static in their hair or skin, to crouch down on the ground with the palms on the knees and head between the knees.

"Make your body as small as possible and avoid skin contact with the ground, the statement said.

The statement was in response to the lightning incidents that occurred in Rawang and Glenmarie in Shah Alam yesterday which left six foreigners dead and five people injured.

In the first incident, three Indonesians died and two were injured while working at a farm during a heavy storm in Sungai Choh, Rawang.

In the Glenmarie incident, three Indonesian contract workers were killed while three of their colleagues were injured after being hit by lightning.

http://www.mmail.com.my/content/80935-tips-how-not-get-struck-lightning