An adult lost their life and a child was hospitalized this Sunday after both were struck by lightning in a residential area of Margate, a city in Broward County, South Florida, local authorities reported to Telemundo 51.
The incident occurred just before 3 p.m. in the 7900 block of Northwest 1st Street, a residential street in Margate, a city located about 50 kilometers north of Miami.
According to preliminary information from the Margate Police, both victims were struck by the electrical discharge at the same location.
The minor was transported to Broward General Hospital, while the adult was taken to North Broward Hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after his arrival.
The identities of the two victims have not been disclosed by the authorities. Neither the age nor the health status of the hospitalized child was made public at the time this report was published.
Detectives and personnel from the Crime Scene Unit of the Margate Police are collaborating on the investigation of the case, which remains open, as confirmed by NBC 6 South Florida.
The incident occurs during an especially intense thunderstorm season in the state. Florida had already surpassed 2.3 million lightning strikes by mid-August 2026, with days recording over 90,000 strikes in a single day.
Ninety percent of electrical activity in Florida occurs between June and September, coinciding with the rainy season and tropical storms.
The state historically leads the country in lightning-related fatalities: between 2016 and 2025, it recorded 51 deaths from this cause, more than any other state, compared to 21 in Texas, according to the National Lightning Safety Council.
Before this incident, Florida had recorded at least four confirmed lightning-related deaths in 2026, according to data from the National Weather Service. Nationwide, lightning causes an average of 47 to 49 deaths per year in the United States, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
In 2025, Florida also led the nation in insurance claims for damage caused by lightning, with 5,136 claims and 186 million dollars in insured losses, reflecting the magnitude of the risk this phenomenon poses to the state's residents.
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