A Port Charlotte, Florida homeowner is still cleaning up after her septic tank was struck by lightning, causing her toilet to explode over the weekend.

Sunday morning, Marylou Ward said she heard the loudest sound she ever heard. She found her toilet in hundreds of pieces.

Ward said the septic tank, toilet, and their indoor plumbing are destroyed.

“We come in here and the toilet was laying on the floor,” Ward told WINK News. “There’s all pieces everywhere. Pieces everywhere.”

More than 24 hours later, the damage is visible in and outside of the home. A master bedroom window also shattered and they’ve found some of their lawn ornaments in a yard across the street.


Their plumber said the lightning hit methane gases from fecal matter that had built up in the pipes.

No one was hurt, but the Wards still have a lot of cleaning up to do.

“I’m just glad none of us were on the toilet,” Ward said. “That’s the main thing.”