Florida, Texas and California top the list for the most damage caused by lightning strikes.
Two lightning strike victims injured on June 29 during storms in Ohio and North Carolina later died from their injuries, according to family and friends of the victims.
On June 29, Jason Gurganus, 53, was on a boat around the Scotts Hill Marina when he was struck, according to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. A female passenger on the boat with him did not suffer any serious injuries. The victim was taken to shore via a personal watercraft where bystanders tried CPR. Gurganus was taken to New Hanover Regional Medical Center.
An obituary for Gurganus confirms he died on July 10 at UNC Chapel Hill Medical Center.
FILE – Lightning strikes the sky above the Israeli coastal city of Netanya, on June 13, 2023.
(Jack Guez / AFP / Getty Images)
The lightning death marks the second in North Carolina this year. The state ranks fourth highest for lightning fatalities in the U.S., according to the National Lightning Safety Council.
WHAT IS HOTTER: LIGHTNING OR FIREWORKS?
Also on June 29, a 36-year-old man was struck in Columbus, Ohio, while on a soccer field. According to a GoFundMe page for Mouhamed Seye, he died at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center on July 4. Friends of Seye are trying to return his body to Senegal.
Seye marks the first lightning death in Ohio since 2022.
Soccer is the second-ranked sport with the most lightning deaths after golf.
The recent deaths mark the ninth and 10th this year in the U.S. According to the National Lightning Safety Council, based on the past 10 years, the U.S. averages 10 lightning deaths by July 14 each year.
