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I live in Quebec, and one of the strangest thing here is that every time that some clouds are in the sky, all public pools in the cities are evacuated. This is done for our "safety" with the argument that lightning can strike the pool and I guess kill us all. Although I have seen in the news people hit by lightning in the middle of a lac, I have never seen anyone killed by lightning in a urban pool. So, is there any case anywhere of someone being killed in a urban pool by lightning?

And I think my question is more specific then Is it unsafe to swim during a lightning storm?

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Do they evacuate the streets too? Because I know for a fact that people get hit by lightning while on the sidewalk. The question should really be, Is there an increased risk of getting hit by lightning when in an outdoor pool as opposed to any other place outdoors. – Kibbee Jun 9 '11 at 15:25
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related question – Oliver_C Jun 9 '11 at 23:06

1 Answer

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Various links suggesting there are no documented cases in indoor pools.

http://www.weatherquesting.com/indoor-pool-lightning.htm

http://www.bigeye.com/indoorswimmingpools.htm

http://www.aquaticsintl.com/2008/novdec/0811_rm.html

Unfortunately though, it does happen outdoors (at least in Italy).

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