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, southern Florida, according to local authorities reported to Telemundo 51.
The incident occurred shortly before 3 p.m. at the 7900 block of Northwest 1st Street, a residential street in Margate, located about 50 kilometers north of Miami.
According to preliminary information from the Margate Police, both victims were struck by the electric discharge at that very location.
The minor was taken to Broward General Hospital, while the adult was taken to North Broward Hospital, where he was declared dead shortly after arrival.
The identities of the two victims were not disclosed by the authorities. Additionally, no public information was provided regarding the age or health status of the hospitalized child at the time this report was published.
Detectives and personnel from the Margate Police Crime Scene Unit are collaborating in the investigation of the case, which remains open, as confirmed by NBC 6 South Florida.
The event occurs during an especially intense season of thunderstorms in the state. Florida had already surpassed 2.3 million lightning strikes by mid-August 2026, with days in which more than 90,000 strikes were recorded 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 deaths from lightning in 2026, according to data from the National Weather Service. Nationwide, lightning causes an average of between 47 and 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, highlighting the magnitude of the risk this phenomenon poses to the state's residents.
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