Lightning
Strikes Downtown San Jose
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Lightning
Strikes Downtown San Jose
Lightning is a common occurrence during the
daily downpours in Costa Rica. And yesterday
a group of people waiting for a bus in
downtown San Jose got a close look and feel
a lightning strike, that touched down at the
south side of San Juan de Dios hospital.
The lightning strike hit six people while
waiting for a bus near the Escazú bus stop,
fortunately no one was seriously hurt. The
lightning strike hit at 11:50am, most had
their umbrellas open as it has just started
to rain.
"We saw a flash and people running", Carlos
Paniagua, a gasoline station attendant, told
the Spanish language daily, La Nacion.
"It was a dry bolt because it was barely
raining", said Paniagua, adding that the
thunder in the skies had been heard for some
time.
Witnesses say the lightning bolt hit the
sidewalk and bounced off hitting the people
nearby.
The Cruz Roja (Red Cross) was quick to
arrive on the scene to attend to those hit
by the bolt, mostly with traumas to the
chest, abdomen and head. Cruz Roja officials
say none of the patients were burned.
Rebeca Morera, of the Instituto
Meteorológico Nacional (IMN) - national
weather service - said that yesterday's
weather conditions, the high temperatures of
the morning, were apt for electrical
activity and that it is normal during the
rainy season.
Morera advises that people should take
precautions during lightning storms.
According to the Instituto Costarricense de
Electricidad (ICE), Costa Rica experiences
some 350.000 lightning strikes a year, with
the areas of San Carlos, Nicoya and Mogos de
Osa being the areas with the greater risk.
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