Sharks vs. Lightning Fatalities

A Comparison of Unprovoked Shark Attacks with the Number of Lightning Fatalities in Coastal United States: 1959-2010

StateNumber of Lightning FatalitiesNumber of Shark bitesNumber of Shark bite Fatalities
Alabama10950
California30897
Connecticut1710
Delaware1530
Florida4596039
Georgia111100
Hawaii0976
Louisiana13910
Maine2710
Maryland12600
Massachusetts3020
Mississippi10410
New Hampshire800
New Jersey6880
New York13930
North Carolina193391
Oregon8221
Rhode Island500
South Carolina98510
Texas213321
Virginia6651
Washington510
TOTALS (Annual Average)1,970 (37.9)974 (18.7)26 (0.5)

Source of shark attack data: International Shark Attack File, 10 February 2011.
Source of lightning data: Lightning Fatalities, Injuries and Damage Reports in the United States from 1959-1994, NOAA.

The lightning fatality data was collected by NOAA and originates from the monthly and annual summaries compiled by the National Weather Service and published in monthly issues of Storm Data. The 1995 through 2010 data was tabulated with data from Storm Data.