‘My arm lit up like a Christmas tree’: Woman's shocking encounter with nature’s power
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Severe storms can bring more than just heavy rain and thunder—they can also lead to unexpected and terrifying encounters with nature’s raw power.
For one South Australian woman, a routine action inside her home turned into a shocking ordeal.
She was left grappling with both the immediate and lasting effects of an extraordinary lightning strike.
A South Australian woman endured a terrifying ordeal when a lightning bolt sent electricity surging through power lines, into her home, and straight to her arm.
Sarah Eccles-Smith, 36, had been turning off a light inside her house in Rocky Camp, near Millicent, when the strike hit on Monday night.
‘It just floored me, literally,’ she said.
She continued: ‘My arm lit up like a Christmas tree.’
‘My heart was racing so fast, I was hyperventilating and I just screamed and screamed and screamed.’
In that instant, she feared for her life.
‘I thought I was going to die,’ she said.
‘I didn’t know what would happen, or what effects might happen after.’
Her partner woke to the sound of her distress, and she was taken to Millicent Hospital by ambulance.
Paramedics focused on calming her breathing, as her ECG results showed no physical harm.
‘[The paramedic’s] biggest battle was to calm my breathing,’ she said.
‘Everything else was fine, the ECG was fine, it was just the most bizarre thing.’
She was discharged within five hours.
The storm had wreaked havoc across South Australia’s South East, with SA Power Networks recording about 46,000 lightning strikes.
At one point, approximately 31,000 homes were without power, though most had been reconnected by the following day.
With her home still without electricity, Eccles-Smith returned to work in Mount Gambier on 11 March, experiencing only minor lingering effects from the strike.
She described her physical injuries as limited to a sore arm and a numb finger.
‘I think there’ll always be a bit of trauma attached now to a lightning storm, and it’s maybe a habit now not to touch any light switches,’ she said.
‘It’s probably never going to happen again, but, knowing my luck, it probably will.’
The lightning had also damaged parts of her home, scorching the carpet.
Keith Kikkert, an adjunct associate professor in electrical engineering at the University of Adelaide and James Cook University, said the timing of the strike was critical.
‘It’s so unlikely…and if she had been even 5 centimetres away from the light switch, she wouldn’t have felt anything,’ he said.
The past dry year in the region may have contributed to the lightning’s path through the house rather than being safely redirected underground via an earth stake.
Kikkert recommended occasionally watering the earth stake to ensure proper grounding, or even letting a dog urinate on it.
He also advised taking additional precautions during storms, such as wearing shoes, walking on insulated surfaces like vinyl, and disconnecting TV antenna cables, which can attract lightning due to their height.
Fires were also sparked across the region due to the storm, including a haystack blaze in Kalangadoo.
To inspect potential damage to the electricity network, SA Power Networks deployed helicopters to survey infrastructure.
In a previous story, we explored how a simple mistake while camping could spark a devastating bushfire.
Just like unexpected lightning strikes, small oversights can lead to dangerous consequences.
Read more about how to stay safe in the great outdoors.
Lightning strikes are rare, but stories like this prove just how unpredictable they can be. Have you ever experienced a close call with nature’s power?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
For one South Australian woman, a routine action inside her home turned into a shocking ordeal.
She was left grappling with both the immediate and lasting effects of an extraordinary lightning strike.
A South Australian woman endured a terrifying ordeal when a lightning bolt sent electricity surging through power lines, into her home, and straight to her arm.
Sarah Eccles-Smith, 36, had been turning off a light inside her house in Rocky Camp, near Millicent, when the strike hit on Monday night.
‘It just floored me, literally,’ she said.
She continued: ‘My arm lit up like a Christmas tree.’
‘My heart was racing so fast, I was hyperventilating and I just screamed and screamed and screamed.’
In that instant, she feared for her life.
‘I thought I was going to die,’ she said.
‘I didn’t know what would happen, or what effects might happen after.’
Her partner woke to the sound of her distress, and she was taken to Millicent Hospital by ambulance.
Paramedics focused on calming her breathing, as her ECG results showed no physical harm.
‘[The paramedic’s] biggest battle was to calm my breathing,’ she said.
‘Everything else was fine, the ECG was fine, it was just the most bizarre thing.’
She was discharged within five hours.
The storm had wreaked havoc across South Australia’s South East, with SA Power Networks recording about 46,000 lightning strikes.
At one point, approximately 31,000 homes were without power, though most had been reconnected by the following day.
With her home still without electricity, Eccles-Smith returned to work in Mount Gambier on 11 March, experiencing only minor lingering effects from the strike.
She described her physical injuries as limited to a sore arm and a numb finger.
‘I think there’ll always be a bit of trauma attached now to a lightning storm, and it’s maybe a habit now not to touch any light switches,’ she said.
‘It’s probably never going to happen again, but, knowing my luck, it probably will.’
The lightning had also damaged parts of her home, scorching the carpet.
Keith Kikkert, an adjunct associate professor in electrical engineering at the University of Adelaide and James Cook University, said the timing of the strike was critical.
‘It’s so unlikely…and if she had been even 5 centimetres away from the light switch, she wouldn’t have felt anything,’ he said.
The past dry year in the region may have contributed to the lightning’s path through the house rather than being safely redirected underground via an earth stake.
Kikkert recommended occasionally watering the earth stake to ensure proper grounding, or even letting a dog urinate on it.
He also advised taking additional precautions during storms, such as wearing shoes, walking on insulated surfaces like vinyl, and disconnecting TV antenna cables, which can attract lightning due to their height.
Fires were also sparked across the region due to the storm, including a haystack blaze in Kalangadoo.
To inspect potential damage to the electricity network, SA Power Networks deployed helicopters to survey infrastructure.
In a previous story, we explored how a simple mistake while camping could spark a devastating bushfire.
Just like unexpected lightning strikes, small oversights can lead to dangerous consequences.
Read more about how to stay safe in the great outdoors.
Lightning strikes are rare, but stories like this prove just how unpredictable they can be. Have you ever experienced a close call with nature’s power?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
