Captured on camera: The exact moment lightning struck the Empire State building
A journalist was in the right place at the right time.
Formerly known as the "tallest building on the world", the Empire State building (currently the 29th-tallest) acts as a lightning rod in Manhattan, New York.
In the video above, shot by journalist Henrik Moltke, the building can be seen being hit by a picture-perfect lightning strike. Moltke was in his office when he saw a flash and decided to begin recording.
The visual is extraordinary and intense, although the actual occurrence – of lightning striking the 102-storey building – is not so rare and is said to take place an average of 23 times a year.
Here's probably the closest (we hope) you'll ever get to a lightning strike. The photographers are being a little foolhardy though, standing as they are, "on a flat plain next to some metal tripods during a thunderstorm, waiting for lightning to strike somewhere close but not too close" as observed by one YouTube commenter.
Here’s another close-up of a lightning strike. It reminds you why you should never stand under a tree during a thunderstorm, and of the real power of Pikachu, everyone’s favourite Pokémon.
In 2011, during a football match between two South African teams, lightning struck several players and the match was abandoned. A red card was in order – for nature, perhaps?