Three people were hurt by lightning in Perth on Thursday, and a family’s beloved dog was killed in the same event. A woman, Karyn Avalos, spoke of her shock after learning that her father had been seriously injured and their dog Messi had died during a morning strike in the suburb of Hamersley.
Avalos was at work when her husband phoned with the devastating news. Her father, Michael Day, 78, was walking Messi at around 8:30am when the lightning struck. Day sustained burns to his abdomen and thigh, while Messi did not survive.
Avalos described visiting the scene and seeing her father’s shredded T-shirt, collecting scraps of fabric and a handkerchief as keepsakes. Her father remained in hospital and was in considerable pain, though the family expressed relief that he was alive. Still, they mourn the loss of their cherished dog, and many in the family are in shock.
In a separate incident in Perth’s eastern area, 16-year-old Georgia Rizzi was injured by lightning on her school tennis courts after a bolt struck a nearby basketball hoop. She and a friend felt a jolt as thunder rolled across the sky.
Rizzi was at school in Mount Helena when she suffered a burn. She recalled how, moments before the strike, thunder and lightning had been visible and people’s hair began to stand on end, followed by a loud bang. The lightning hit a nearby basketball hoop and then affected her and her friend.
The student described pain in her head and a vibrating sensation along her spine. She began crying as her feet felt numb. Teachers and staff helped move the girls to a safer area, instructing them to lie on the floor with their feet elevated, and an ambulance transported them to hospital for assessment. While at hospital, doctors conducted several tests, including one on her heart, before she was discharged with guidance to monitor her symptoms. Aside from spine pain, she is said to be feeling better.
A WA Department of Education spokesperson told ABC that there were no eyewitnesses to the lightning strike at the Mount Helena campus. The department confirmed two students reported being struck by lightning and feeling unwell earlier that morning; staff responded quickly, and St John Ambulance transported the students for precautionary checks.
St John WA manager Deane Coxall described the day as extraordinarily rare: after nearly 15 years on the job, he has never witnessed three people injured by lightning in a single day, especially not in Western Australia. He emphasized that while the overall risk remains low, storms can still pose danger, and people should take precautions during electrical activity. If someone is struck, he urged, call 000 immediately.
Meteorologist Caroline Crow of the Bureau of Meteorology noted roughly 10,000 lightning strikes across the metropolitan area and southern Western Australia during the storms. Nationally, about 100 people are struck by lightning each year, with roughly five to ten fatalities resulting from their injuries.
