Lightning-related Fatalities and Injuries in Mountainous Terrain

Vulnerability of people to lightning in mountainous terrain is substantial. The notable factors are 1) being outdoors with no lightning-safe structures and vehicles to reach when thunderstorms occur, 2) long distances may exist to reach lightning-safe locations, 3) the steadily increasing number of people engaged in afternoon mountain climbing, hiking, and highland agriculture when lightning is most frequent, and 4) larger densities of lightning over mountains in many locations compared to lower elevations.

Several notable mass casualty incidents in recent years have occurred in China, France, Poland, and the U.S. that resulted in 39 deaths and 280 injuries. Although these events resulted in multiple fatalities and injuries, and often massive rescue efforts, the behavior of the mountaineering community seems to be unaffected as people continue to place themselves at risk in similar situations. As a result, these high-profile incidents can be expected to continue to take place due to an increasing population that accesses mountainous terrain.

In addition to these four high visibility events, an additional 66 incidents in 34 countries from 2004 through 2023 are summarized that occurred to one or many people per event and resulted in 57 deaths and 189 injuries. Common features are more male than female casualties, most often in their teens and 20s, during summer and during the afternoon; these are mostly consistent with prior studies of mountain-related lightning events. The commonality of these features indicate that the incidents are usually neither random nor unexpected.