Lightning kills golfer, 15. Where to shelter until 7 Nov

On the evening of Sunday, 1 November, a youth golf tournament at a course in Bang Nam Priao district, Chachoengsao province, was carrying on as normal while a storm built overhead. A 15-year-old girl was struck by lightning on the course. Her heart stopped for almost an hour. Medical staff got it beating again and kept resuscitating her through the night, but her family later said on Facebook that she had died, THE STANDARD and Spacebar reported. Her mother asked golf courses and tournament organisers to prepare both to prevent such strikes and to respond to them, so that no other family suffers the same loss.

Three days later, the question of where to go when you hear thunder concerns the whole country. Advisory No. 7 from the Thai Meteorological Department, issued at 5pm on 4 November, said cold air from China will bring thunderstorms, strong gusts and hail to upper Thailand from 5 to 7 November, starting in the Northeast and moving to the other regions. It asked people to keep away from open areas, large trees and unsecured billboards. The South faces heavy to very heavy rain after that, from 7 to 9 November.

If you can hear thunder, lightning can already reach you

Many people wait for the first drops of rain before they move to shelter, or decide to finish the hole first. But the signal to listen for is thunder, not rain. A simple check comes from Sontthi Khotchawat, an academic with the Thai Environmental Academics Club, Matichon reported: count the seconds between a flash of lightning and the sound of thunder. If the thunder arrives within 30 seconds, the storm is close enough to strike where you are standing, so stop what you are doing and take cover at once.

Once you are under cover, do not rush out. He advises waiting at least 30 minutes after the last thunder, even if the rain has stopped or the sky is getting lighter. The two numbers are easy to remember as a pair: thunder within 30 seconds means go inside, and 30 minutes of silence means you can come out.

For golf courses, he suggests sirens or horns that can be heard across the whole course. One long blast means stop play and leave the course immediately, and three short blasts mean play can resume. When the alarm sounds, players should not wait to see what happens or try to finish the hole. Parents sending children to play or practise this week can ask the course and the organisers whether they have such a signal and where the shelter building is.

On a stormy day, anyone who can hear thunder is already within range of lightning.

Safe shelter is a fully enclosed building or a car with the windows shut

The DDPM advised in a warning on 3 November that people who hear thunder should get into a solid building or a car with its doors and windows fully closed. An open-sided pavilion by the course or a bus stop with only a roof does not count as shelter: it needs walls and a roof all around you. Nor does a golf cart, because an ordinary golf cart is open and has no enclosed metal frame like a car, so it gives no protection from lightning.

If you shelter in a car, the Department of Health advises switching off the engine, closing the windows, sitting with your arms folded or your hands in your lap, and not touching any metal part of the car. Places to avoid are open areas of every kind, such as large grounds, football pitches, swimming pools and golf courses, as well as standing under a lone large tree, near an electricity pole or under a billboard, because tall objects standing alone attract lightning. Keep away from water, and do not raise a golf club or a metal-tipped umbrella above your head.

If you are caught in the open with nowhere to go, the DDPM says to crouch with your feet together and your head down, and never to lie flat on the ground. This position keeps you low and touching the ground as little as possible. If you are in a group, Sontthi advises spreading out at least 5 metres apart, so that if lightning strikes one person, the current does not reach the others.

Even at home, some care is needed. The DDPM advises against bathing, washing dishes and touching taps or metal pipes during a thunderstorm, and suggests unplugging electrical appliances before the storm arrives, because lightning striking outside can send a power surge through the wiring.

If someone is struck by lightning, you can touch them straight away

Many people hesitate to help because they fear being electrocuted too. But the DDPM says a person struck by lightning carries no electrical charge and can be touched straight away. First check that the spot is safe, then move the injured person somewhere safe. Call out to them and check whether they are breathing. If they are unconscious and not breathing, call the 1669 emergency line and start CPR at once. If there is a defibrillator (AED) nearby, the box that many malls and large buildings mount on their walls, switch it on and follow its instructions.

This matters because the first person beside someone injured is usually a friend, a caddie or a stranger sheltering nearby, not a doctor. If everyone stands back for fear of a shock, the first minutes pass with nobody acting.

Bangkok must watch for flooding in the same period

The same storms will pass over Bangkok from 5 to 7 November, and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and the Thai Meteorological Department warned that the city faces a high flood risk, with water likely to collect at slow-draining spots before it recedes. Anyone travelling home in the evening should allow extra time. To report a flooded road or a blocked drain, call the city's 1555 hotline at any hour, or send a photo with your location on LINE at @Traffyfondue. For main roads, contact the flood prevention centre directly on 0 2248 5115.

Before the first storms on Thursday, 5 November, there are three things you can do today. First, save 1669 for an ambulance, 1784 for the DDPM hotline and 1555 for reporting floods in Bangkok. Second, check the Thai Meteorological Department's forecast on its 1182 hotline before you go out to play golf, run or work outdoors. Third, agree with your family or team that play stops the moment anyone hears thunder, and that nobody goes back out until 30 minutes after the last rumble.

Sources

• THE STANDARD: อาลัย ‘น้องเอย่า’ นักกอล์ฟเยาวชนวัย 15 ปี เสียชีวิตหลังประสบเหตุฟ้าผ่า
• Spacebar: ‘น้องเอย่า’ นักกอล์ฟวัย 15 ปี โดนฟ้าผ่าเสียชีวิตแล้ว
• Thai Meteorological Department: Variable weather in upper Thailand and heavy to very heavy rains in the South No. 7
• Bangkok Biz News: ปภ. เตือนฝนฟ้าคะนองเสี่ยงถูกฟ้าผ่า แนะวิธีป้องกันภัยและช่วยเหลือผู้ประสบเหตุ
• Matichon: นักวิชาการแนะ วิธีป้องกันตัวเองจากฟ้าผ่า เมื่ออยู่ในสนามกอล์ฟ
• Thai Red Cross: หลบ หลีก ปลอดภัย ป้องกันอันตรายจากฟ้าผ่า
• The Nation: Weather alert covers Bangkok flood risks and heavy rain in the South