Avoid the phone when there is lightning!

There is a lot of thunder and lightning these days, especially during the evenings. You may have read in the newspapers, heard on the radio and television and also been advised by your parents and elders about the precautions that you should take when there is thunder and lightning.

Watching television is an absolute 'no', and so is listening to the radio. This basically goes for activating any electrical equipment. You should also wear rubber slippers and avoid touching water and any metal utensils when there is thunder and lightning.

In a severe situation, it's best if you stay in your bed or a chair, provided it's not made of metal, in which case it would act as an electricity conductor.

You may have already heard that it's not good to be on the phone during a thunderstorm, that you could be electrocuted.

Although some people don't take this seriously, it's a piece of advice which you shouldn't ignore. A bolt of lightning that strikes a telephone line can cause an electrical surge to shoot along the wires of the instrument and thereby enter one's body through the handset of the phone.

There is documented evidence of people receiving sudden jolts while they were on the phone during thunderstorms. Some of them have even died. For example, a teenager in New Jersey, USA died in 1985 when an electrical surge, caused as a result of lightning, entered his ear through the telephone wire and stopped his heart.

Although the chances of a person being electrocuted through the telephone is relatively small, and although most phone companies have precautionary measures in place, there is a risk involved, and it's a risk that you shouldn't take. Authorities have also advised against using telephones and other appliances during periods of lightning.

However, cordless and cellular phones are said to be relatively safe, as they don't have any outside wiring through which lightning can travel. However, if used outside, they could pose the same risk as any other metal object.

So, don't you think that it's better to be safe than sorry?