⚡ Struck by lightning vs 🏚️ Dying in an earthquake
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You're 9.80× more likely to be struck by lightning
than to die in an earthquake
Periods differ: Struck by lightning is framed as lifetime (US), while Dying in an earthquake is lifetime (US avg). The multiplier is a raw ratio of the 1-in-X figures — not a normalized lifetime risk. Compare cautiously.
How we calculated this
Each figure is “1 in X.” The larger X is the rarer event. Dividing that number by the more common one gives the multiplier: you're 9.80× more likely to be struck by lightning. When the periods differ, this is a raw ratio of those figures, not a lifetime-normalized risk.
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You're 9.80× more likely to be struck by lightning (1 in 15,300, lifetime (US)) than to die in an earthquake (1 in 150,000, lifetime (US avg)). ⚠️ Periods differ (lifetime (US) vs lifetime (US avg)) — compare cautiously. — How Likely Is That? https://www.howlikelyisthat.com/compare/odds-of-being-struck-by-lightning-vs-odds-of-dying-in-an-earthquake
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