Australia's old comfort-more likely killed by lightning-no longer true
Between 2015 and 2024, shark attacks killed 24 Australians compared to 6 deaths from lightning strikes.
Data analysis reveals fatal shark attacks have reversed a long-held Australian reassurance: that lightning is more deadly than sharks. From 2015 to 2024, sharks killed 24 people while lightning killed six.
The rate of fatal attacks is accelerating. Between 1980 and 1999, Australia averaged fewer than one fatal shark bite per year.
That rose to just over two per year from 2000 to 2019, and more than five per year from 2020 to 2025. Western Australia has been hit hardest, with three fatal attacks in 2026 alone.
A Sorrento Beach attack on Friday was the latest. Research from Bond University notes the Australian Shark-Incident Database recorded 23 fatal attacks from 2020 to 2025, compared with only 17 across the entire 1950s.
Why it mattersThe changing odds mean Australians should reassess beach safety and understand actual risks from shark activity.
AustraliaAustralians swimming or surfing face statistically higher shark risk than previous generations, particularly in Western Australia.
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