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Cloud Lightning

Lightning deaths rise in China

Lightning strikes have killed 403 people in China so far this year, equalling the total number of deaths from lightning in the whole of last year, the China Meteorological Administration said.

The administration attributed the higher rate of deaths to more frequent and severe lightning storms, Xinhua news agency reported.

Cloud Lightning

Lightning kills five South Koreans climbers

Five South Koreans were killed by lightning in mountains near the capital on Sunday, while six other climbers were injured, KBS news said.

Two men and two women were struck and killed near a hill at Bukhan Mountain, northeast of Seoul, when heavy rains swept through the area, the report said, citing police and rescue workers.

Cloud Lightning

Colorodo man killed by lightning

Morrison, Colorado - The name of a man believed to have been struck and killed by lightning while jogging in Matthews Winters Park in Morrison Friday, has yet to be released.

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office and the Foothills Fire Department say the man, who is believed to be around 20 years old, was struck in the park around 6 p.m. The park is along Highway 93 near I-70 north of Red Rocks.

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Lightning kills diver off Florida coast

Lightning struck a diver's oxygen tank as he surfaced off Florida's Atlantic coast, killing him, authorities said.

The 36-year-old man was diving with three others Sunday off a boat near Deerfield Beach, about 40 miles north of Miami. He had surfaced about 30 feet from the boat when lightning struck his tank, said Deerfield Beach Fire Chief Gary Fernaays.

The other divers struggled to get the man back into the boat and radioed for help, Fernaays said. The victim, whose name was not immediately released, was rushed to the beach, where a rescue crew gave him CPR. He was later pronounced dead at North Broward Medical Center in Pompano Beach.

Cloud Lightning

At least 50 feared dead in 2 Pakistan villages

Peshawar - Lightning and heavy rain destroyed homes in two remote villages in northwestern Pakistan yesterday, killing at least 50 people, police said.

Seven houses were destroyed and several more damaged in villages in Dirbala district, 250 kilometres north of Peshawar, said local official Nisar Khan Wardak.

Cloud Lightning

Record storm in South China kills 37

At least 37 people were killed during a record 16-hour thunderstorm in south-west China that included 40,000 lightning strikes, state media said.

The city of Chongqing received more than 26cm (10 inches) of rain, the most in a 24-hour period since records began more than a century ago.



©AP
Rescuers had to evacuate stranded residents in Chongqing.


Cloud Lightning

Lightning keeps Washington firefighters busy

Firefighters tried to contain several dozen lightning-caused fires in Washington state on Saturday, as more thunderstorms swept through the region.



©AP
The red lights of fire trucks, right, are seen as firefighters prepare defend homes against a fast moving wildfire Friday night, July 13, 2007, in Asotin County, Wash.


Close to 2,700 lightning strikes were reported in Washington and Oregon on Friday and early Saturday, sparking 212 fires, but firefighters quickly contained most of them. Three of the largest remaining fires had burned nearly 43 square miles of grass, sagebrush and farm fields in south-central Washington, and only one had been contained by early Saturday afternoon.

Cloud Lightning

Rainstorms, lightning kill 48 in south, central China

Heavy rainstorms along with lightning and hail since last week have hit many parts of China, killing nearly 50 people, destroying farmland and sweeping away houses.

On Monday afternoon, lightning killed five people building a tomb in Zhejiang. Altogether 48 people have died and 12 are missing after a week of heavy rains and thunderstorms that swept up the Yangtze River valley and across southern China.

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US: Lawman's car hit by lightning

Walworth County, South Dakota Deputy Sheriff Chuck Davidson answers to a new nickname. "They're all calling me Sparky," said Davidson, whose patrol vehicle was hit by lightning. "I just feel sorry for my poor patrol car."

Davidson was on U.S. Highway 83 when the lightning hit at about 7 a.m. Thursday.

"All of a sudden, there was a flash, a bang and then there was a bunch of sparks on the road behind the vehicle," he said. "Everything in the vehicle turned off, and I coasted to the side of the road."

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Flooding, More Rain Drench South Florida

More rain is falling in South Florida, on the heels of a line of fierce thunderstorms that flooded several neighborhoods Friday. The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook for South Florida through Saturday night.

Forecasters said thunderstorms with heavy rain and dangerous lightning will stick around most of the day into Sunday morning.