The chances of getting hit by lightning in Aotearoa are quite low – so why does it keep happening to our politicians?
New Zealand First candidate Lee Donoghue came to last night’s TVNZ Young Voters' Debate to discuss his party’s position on issues that matter to Gen Z and millennial voters – but instead he wound up joining a group of local political figures who have managed to get hit by lightning.
When asked last night if he was worried about being killed in a major weather event caused by climate change, he said he wasn’t, because he was once hit by lightning at an Iron Maiden show in Rome.
In sharing that story, Donoghue joined a growing list of New Zealand politicians to be hit by lightning.
His shocking revelation came during questions about climate change. (Source: 1News)
National MP Maureen Pugh famously claims to have been hit by lightning, not once, not twice, but three times in her life.
Back in 2021, Pugh told the NZ Herald the incidents all took place while she was inside her home or her neighbour’s home on the West Coast. She added that one of the strikes was so bad, she was left like a “vegetable” for six weeks.
On the other side of the political divide, Health Minister Ayesha Verrall says she was also once hit by lightning while running across a street during a storm when she was 21.
How common are lightning strikes?
According to MetService, there were 4,207,156 lightning strikes detected “cloud to ground” in New Zealand over the 20 years between January 2001 to December 2020.
That works out to 210,358 lightning strikes per year – which does sound like a lot of opportunities for getting hit.
Most lightning is over mountainous areas, but the region with the most lightning is the West Coast – which could explain Pugh’s run of bad luck.
But the chances of being hit by lightning in New Zealand still appear to be very low.
Based on some previous ACC claims data, MetService says there may be three lightning strike claims per year.
So, how can you avoid being hit by lightning?
There are some general rules to follow to avoid getting hit by lightning during a storm:
- If you hear thunder while you’re outside, seek shelter straight away, preferably in a larger structure. Seeking shelter in a car is okay. Seeking shelter under a tree is not okay.
- Avoid open areas. But if you’re outdoors with no safe shelter nearby, get away from any elevated areas immediately.
- Don’t go swimming. In fact, just stay away from water during a storm.
- Avoid contact with anything metal.
- Wait for at least 30 minutes after you last hear thunder before venturing outside again.
The CDC in the US has more lightning safety tips, too - so there’s no excuse to be out stealing our MPs’ thunder.
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