Rubber jandals may have saved Taupō man from serious lightning injury

• Bruce Wilson credits rubber jandals and rubber scaffold rollers for preventing serious injury after a lightning strike.
• Wilson told the Herald he was thrown against a wall after lightning hit scaffolding he was leaning on.
• Taupō experienced flooding and power outages during Friday’s storm, with emergency services responding to incidents.

A Taupō man says his rubber jandals and rubber rollers on some scaffolding could have saved him from serious injury after being struck by lightning at his property during Friday’s heavy thunderstorms.

Bruce Wilson had just covered a mower parked on the side of the house as the storm hit when he heard a “huge clap of thunder” in the direction of a block of trees about 400m away from his home near Kinloch.

It did not occur to him that he could be in the path of the storm as the clap of thunder seemed to be some distance away.

“I was just casually leaning against a scaffold which I’m staining the house on. I was just interested in seeing where the next clap of thunder and lightning was coming from.”

Seconds later he was blinded by a huge flash of light.

“It came out of the sky and all I saw was what I would describe as arch welding, the white light you see if you don’t wear your helmet. It was just two massive shocks, and the next second I was thrown off my feet and against the wall.

“I didn’t even feel being thrown in the air. I was just pushed,” he said.

The scaffolding Bruce Wilson was leaning against when he struck by lightning.

Wilson suspects lightning hit the sky dish on the roof of the house and arced down to the metal scaffolding he was resting against. Several fuses in the house blew out and the sky dish is “absolutely screwed”.

The 70-year-old said he did not know what would have happened if he had been holding the metal scaffold, and believes its rubber rollers and wearing rubber jandals prevented serious injuries.

“There is no burn on my arm. It has been very, very sore, and is still sore. I could hardly see for a while, and all day yesterday it was like having a hangover.

“I just feel a little bit stuffed at the moment,” said Smith, who the day before the storm was stung by a bee, which he is allergic to.

“I’ve had a double whammy,” said Smith, who still feels a “bit stuffed” today, which he puts down to the adrenalin taking a couple of days to get out of his system.

Taupō was hit hard by Friday’s storm with reports of flooding and power outages.

The lightning was like arch welding, said Bruce Wilson.

Video seen by the Herald showed a steady stream of vehicles slowly driving through a flooded road on Taupō‘s lakefront.

Another image shared with the Herald showed powerlines down on a Taupō road after it is believed a power pole sunk into the ground.

A Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesman confirmed the service was responding to “multiple reports” of flooding and weather-related incidents in the Taupō area. They were unable to provide any further information.

Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.