© Welcomia/ThinkstockIt might not kill a lot of people, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't fear a flood.
Severe lightning storms, such as the one that killed one and injured at least seven on Venice Beach last Sunday, are incredibly rare events. Dying because of one? Even rarer. However, a report on extreme weather - related deaths released Wednesday found that
death by flood is even more uncommon.
The data, collected by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers, showed that while lightning strikes killed 182 Americans between 2006 and 2010, flooding was directly responsible for 93 fatalities.
Despite record stateside flooding within the past year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported only
28 flood fatalies in 2013, most of which occured while victims were driving.
CDC researchers analyzed death tolls caused by five kinds of severe weather: heat, cold, storms, floods, and lightning. Overall, 10,649 people died as a result of extreme weather events over the five-year period. The CDC also provides data tables showing the likelihood of death based on gender and race. White males, it appears, are the most likely to die from severe weather across the board.
Comment: As can be seen from the chart below, the number of flood reports so far this year is already nearly equal to the total for 2013.