US golfer captures the moment lightning strikes him during a storm
A golfer in Ohio was filming his friends while sheltering under a tree during a thunderstorm when lightning struck him directly. He survived and is now recovering.
On August 7, golfer Chris Schiavone had an unexpected experience at the Peeble Creek golf course in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. As a thunderstorm rolled in, he took shelter under a tree and began filming his fellow golfers as they tried to move the course's golf cart.
While joking on camera about his soaked companions, Schiavone was suddenly struck by lightning. The footage later went viral on social media.
Survived with minor injuries
According to Fox News, Schiavone said afterward that he felt incredibly lucky to be alive, describing the odds of such a strike as roughly one in a million and stressing that lightning is no laughing matter. The strike hit his arm, and he is currently recovering from the injury.
Mistakes that raised the risk
Experts note that the golfers should not have remained on the course at all once the storm arrived, and that sheltering under a single tree was a particularly serious mistake, since trees are common targets for lightning strikes. The situation was made worse by the fact that Schiavone was holding an umbrella, which he had been using to keep his golf clubs dry.
The incident serves as a reminder of basic storm safety rules — seeking shelter in a building with a lightning rod, avoiding open areas, trees, metal objects and water, and refraining from using electronic devices or mobile phones outdoors during a storm.
