Lightning Lit Up the Skies. Then Her Toilet Blew Up

Marylou Ward's toilet exploded after lightning hit septic tank
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 6, 2019 12:25 PM CDT
Lightning Lit Up the Skies. Then Her Toilet Blew Up
Marylou Ward is looking for a new bowl.   (Getty Images/tonymax)

Some people stay out of the shower during a lightning storm; Marylou Ward may be staying off the toilet during one from here on in. That's because, per FOX 13, the Port Charlotte, Fla., resident is still cleaning up the wreckage in her bathroom and on other parts of her property after a lightning strike on her septic tank caused her toilet to explode. Ward says the bathroom blast happened Sunday morning, when "the loudest sound she has ever heard" followed the hit on the tank, WINK reports. The toilet shattered into hundreds of pieces, Ward says.

A plumber speculates that when the lightning hit the septic tank, methane gas from fecal matter stuck in the pipes ignited, causing the explosion. Besides her destroyed toilet, Ward's bedroom window also shattered, and her yard decorations got hurled across the lawn and into the street. Still, she's relieved the incident wasn't a re-creation of one of the most famous scenes from Lethal Weapon. "I'm just glad none of us were on the toilet," she says. "That's the main thing." (More freak accident stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X