Lightning seems to be the underrated killer. People often underestimate the power of Mother Nature. In the United States alone, there is an estimate of 25 million lightning flashes each year. According to NOAA’s Weather Service in the past thirty years, lightning has caused the death of an average of 62 people per year.
From - Lightning fatalities, injuries and damage reports in the United States, 1959 - 1994, by B. Curran and R. Holle. Updated 1995 - 2007 by Matt Bragaw
While these stats are pretty high, lightning is often underrated as a risk due to lightning only killing one or two people at a time and due to lightning not causing much physical property damage.
The National Weather Service estimates the US’s average of lightning deaths each year to be 67 although the number is estimated to be closer to 100. And believe it or not, only ten percent of the people struck each year die from their injuries.
In New Jersey between 1997-2006, there was 9 reported deaths by lightning.
