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Lighting has killed two people in North Carolina on the same day earlier this month, despite astronomical odds.

The Fayetteville Observer reported that Steven Bryan and Frankie Roberts both died after they were hit by lightning on April 9.

Both incidences happened several hours and about 40 miles apart, according to the paper.

Bryan, 28, was reportedly waiting for his girlfriend in a mall parking lot in Cary. Roberts, 56, was reportedly taking her dogs out to the bathroom near her home in Harnett County.

Numerous homes and apartment buildings were struck by lightning during the storms, which kept fire crews busy throughout the evening.

The odds of dying in a lightning strike any given year in the U.S. are roughly 1 in 5.5 million, according to the National Safety Council.

The newspaper reported that it was the first time two people from one county were killed by lightning strikes from separate storms on the same day in North Carolina.

"It's very rare for lightning to strike someone," said Katie Dedeaux, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, according to the paper. "Very rare. I've never heard of something like that before."