(ETH) – At least fifteen cows were killed after being struck by lightning on Monday as severe weather passed through central Alabama, officials have said. The incident took place on a family farm in Milstead, Macon County, said Frank Lee, director of the county’s Emergency Management Agency.
Lee told news outlet WSFA that the cattle were found dead by the farm’s owners after the storms that hit several southern states this week. The owners have now begun burying the dead livestock, WSFA reported. Lee added that his office had reported the incident to the National Weather Service office in Birmingham.
Storms have led to at least three deaths and dozens of injuries in the southern U.S. this week, the Associated Press reported. Flash flooding was seen across Alabama on Monday and Tuesday, while strong winds toppled trees in the central part of the state. Tens of thousands of people are still without power in Alabama and neighboring Mississippi, according to PowerOutage.us.
The odds of being struck by lightning are extremely low—around one in a million, says the National Weather Service. Despite the low risk, lightning is among the leading causes of storm-related deaths in the U.S. Between 2009 and 2018, there were 27 lightning fatalities each year on average. Roughly 10 percent of people who are struck by lightning are killed, but those who survive are often left with serious injuries. READ MORE
