The Hawaiian gazette., 1902-04-04
ELECTRIC STORMS.

Honolulu had, within the last few
days, some experience with electric
storms. and though the lightning was
frequent and perturbing II added no
fatalities to the six or seven hundred
cases per year which make up the
death record from such causes in the
United States. Scientists say that du-
sing thunder storms there is much less
danger in the city than in the country.
The network of wires-telephone, tels-
graph and electric Highland the metal
IN roofs. structural work and the ike,
.elieVe the electric tension and so far
2issipate the energy and divide the
course OF the electric fluid as to make
damaging strokes in the city exceed
lngly rare. Honolulu had such an ex-
perience a few days ago. In the midst
of the earlier equnoctial downpour n
bolt descended on the town: but II was
caught by the overhead wires and the
only result was to temporarily disable
their service. Nobody was hurt and
no building was set on fire
Professor Henry of the United states
Weather Bureau. has lately tabmated
/ useful statistics in regard TO lightning
and its ravages which will be of inter-
est to Honolulu at this time. He di-
vides the territorial mainland area Of
the United States, for statistical pur-
poses into four so-Called lightning
belts, within whose respective limits
! the proportionate extent of damage va
ries noticeably. The one in which the
maximum death rate prevails, an aver
age Of a little more than five persons
to 10000 square miles. is bounded by
| Illinois. the Lakes. the New England
coast and Kentucky and West Nir-
ginia. In the area in which are in
| cluded most of the lake region. North
ern and Western Illinois. Iowa. Mis-
souri,. Tennessee. Alabama, Georgia.
| North Carolina and South Carolina. the
/ rate Is a trife lower. ranging from
| three To five to each 10000 square miles.
/ The third belt. in which greater immu-
| nifty is enjoyed, includes Maine and the
territory north and west of st. Pau!
and that in sweep southwark EN-
braced between Denver and Memphis
and including Galveston and the state
Of Florida. The fourth is the entire
region west of Denver. wherein light
ming as a destructive agent is scarcely
considered. the record showing that
fatal strokes average less than one to
each 10000 square miles. The statisti-
cal showing upon which Professor
Henry's figures and conclusions are
based covers the period between 1890
and the present. From this it appears
that the country's annual death loss
through lightning averages between 700
and 500 Within the limits of a single
State most of the deaths in the five
year period from 1896 to 1900 occurred
in Pennsylvania, where lightning killed
1856. Ohio's fatality record for the same
time was 1856, Indiana's l2i, New Yorks
12i. and that of Illinois the same. TAX
ing 1900 as a sample year. July may
be considered the most dangerous
month. Its lightning deaths numbered
POP. In March there We're 2; in April,
"a; in May. 1902; in June, l6S: in August.
1876; in September, 81; in october, H.,
and in November. l. OF the persons
who were killed, 29l suffered the fatal
stroke in the open, l5S in houses, 81 un-
der trees and Sc in barns,
In the country comparative safety
used to he found in properly adjusted
/ lightning rods but so many swindlers
! took to the business that the use OF
| these agencies has fallen off. Barbed
wire fences commonly put up on farms,
/ have measurably taken their places.
/ The cause of so much mortality in the
open among farming people probably
has to do with the habit of field work.
| ers, when caught i'm thunder storm,
] of going TO shelter carrying hoes,
scythes, axes or other metallic imple-
| ments which they had been using.