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Lightning strikes are one of the most underestimated natural disasters, especially in South Africa – a country with one of the highest lightning ground strike densities in the world.
As the summer season approaches, new homeowners would do well to check if they have the right cover in place for damage caused by severe weather.
READ: Buying a Home in 2021? Everything Your Insurance Company Thinks You Know, But You Probably Don’t
South Africa has a number of public and private partnerships actively involved in the country's high-precision lighting detection services, by means of a completely autonomous lightning detection network (LDN).
Research data shows that lightning is one of the biggest weather-related killers in the world. In South Africa, more than 250 people are killed annually by lightning, whereas 24 000 people worldwide die each year. Thousands more are injured, and millions are spent on related insurance claims.
According to Rowland Ramalingam, Head of Non-Motor Claims at Santam, the company has paid out some R158 million in special perils and storm claims for the year up until April 2021.
Ramalingam also notes that of the 3 055 lightening damage claims submitted up until the end of April 2021, an estimated R47 million has been paid out. That's an average of about R15 385 per claim. This is a marked increase when compared to the 6 436 claims submitted in 2020 for a total value of R79 million, with an average of R12 275 per claim.
This updated Ground Flash Density (GFD) map published by the South African Weather Service (SAWS) in 2017 details an “auditable track record addressing reliability, accuracy and consistency”, when it comes to tracking lightning density and risk across South Africa.
SAWS's Ground Flash Density map was recorded over a full keraunic or solar cycle of 11 years, in a gridded 2km x 2km array.
Research done by Wits University in Johannesburg found that the City of Gold is exposed to an average of 15 to 20 flashes per square kilometer per year - an exceptionally high flash density for a country’s main economic centre.
To build on SA's rich history of pioneering research into lightning and as part of the Wits Centenary programme that seeks to advance society for good, the Johannesburg Lightning Research Lab (JLRL) has partnered with lightning protection company, DEHN AFRICA, and Sentech to support research into the protection of renewable energy systems from lightning.
The research involves installing a custom-built DEHNdetect lightning current measurement device, on the Sentech Tower in Brixton, Johannesburg and effectively turning the city hub into a lightning laboratory.
Lightning is measured in flashes per square kilometre per year and Johannesburg averages a high flash density of 15 flashes/km2/year compared to Europe with an average of 3 flashes/km2/year.
With the latest project to improve severe weather warning and Lightning Storm forecasting to protect South Africans and prevent damage, JLRL made the first measurements using the DEHNdetect device over the 2020 to 2021 Johannesburg summer thunderstorm session, high-speed filming and measuring an astounding 50 lightning currents.
"No other location where lightning currents to tall towers are measured can correlate the measurements with high-speed footage as well as we are able to do in Johannesburg,” explains Dr Hugh Hunt, Senior Lecturer and Head of the Johannesburg Lightning Research Laboratory (JLRL) in the School of Electrical and Information Engineering at Wits University.
“It is rare to find a country’s economic and industrial centre in such a high lightning risk zone and Johannesburg is ideal to study lightning events because of its extremely unique characteristic of having a high cloud base, six kilometres on average, making it possible for us to film a full lightning flash.
“As we move more towards renewable energy systems such as solar panels and wind turbines that are highly susceptible to lightning damage, we have to learn how these are affected by lightning and how to protect them better,” says Hunt.
Protect your home and business against lightning/fire damage
Surge protection is absolutely essential to any home and business in lightning prone areas. Installing a surge protector or lightning arrester will give you peace of mind during a storm and help prevent damage, suggests Santam.
It is also a good idea to get an electrician to check your wiring system regularly. And it could also save you money. Click here to understand the benefits of your home insurance or Click here to get a professional risk assessment done and ensure your covered against loss as a result of lightning (e.g. fire, business interruption).
READ: How to save money on your home insurance
Affected by lightning?
Call 0860 505 911 any time of the day or night to register your claim. A claim service consultant will be appointed to your case, taking accountability for your claim from start to finish, while keeping you updated on its progress. Authorised support services can also be requested to assist you if necessary - e.g. if you’re stuck on the side of the road.
Santam intermediaries are trained to provide our clients with expert advice - including during the claims process to ensure that you compile and send us the correct information. Use this online directory to locate a trusted broker in your area or email clientportal@santam.co.za.
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