FOURTEEN people have been taken to hospital after a rare lightning strike during a freak storm at California’s Venice Beach and one man has now died.

Firefighters responded to reports of injuries stemming from a lightning strike in the 3500 block of South Ocean Front Walk around 2:20pm (7.20am AEST) on Sunday afternoon, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

There were 13 people hit along the Venice Beach Boardwalk, including a 15-year-old boy, and a scuba diver zapped unconscious.

One 20-year-old man has since died and another remains in critical condition.

Photos show paramedics helping the unnamed scuba diver sitting in the bed of a pickup truck, being revived after the storm.

Emergency crews treat a scuba diver who was revived after being hit by lightning in Venice Beach pic.twitter.com/5RRNp5Wowr — LOST LOS ANGELES (@lostla01) July 27, 2014

Four people from Venice Beach were treated at the scene and released, while the rest were taken to hospitals.

Lightning victim Stuart Acher said he was struck while playing volleyball on the beach.

“All of a sudden there was a big flash of light and a boom, and it felt like someone punched me in the back of my head,” he told KABC-TV.

“It went down my whole side of my right body, and my calves sort of locked up, and I fell over. And I looked up and everybody else was, you know, falling over.”

Fire officials say most of those taken to hospitals were mainly shaken up and are expected to recover.

Beachgoer Steve Christensen said his friend tried to help when lifeguards began searching for a missing swimmer.

“He went out to the water to find him and walked right into him,” Christensen said. “He was face down on the bottom.”

Christensen said his friend pulled the man from the water, and lifeguards began trying to resuscitate him before taking him away on a truck.

Witnesses tweeted they saw a huge bolt of lightning strike the area, with one Twitter user describing an explosion that blew off nearby roof tiles.

“Cloud to ground” lightning has been reported over Marina Del Rey and Los Angeles International Airport, according to the National Weather Service, which was also urging anyone who heard thunder in the area to stay indoors.

The rare storm sparked by monsoon moisture was described as very loud and bright by witnesses and sent people scattering from the beach as it hit several people and buildings.

#breakingnews Two patients being assessed by paramedics after being struck by lightning at Venice #beach #lightning pic.twitter.com/EuROb9knc5 — Producer Yalda (@ProducerYalda) July 27, 2014

Earlier in the day, a man was injured after being hit by lightning in Catalina Island, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Lightning was also being blamed for igniting several brush fires on the island and knocking out power to the area, the Times reported.

Last week a young couple captured the moment they were nearly struck by lightning while taking a romantic selfie on holiday in Mexico.

Luis Morales Fukutake and his girlfriend were swimming during a storm near Cancun and decided to take a selfie, when a lightning bolt hit the ground just a few metres behind the pair.

Luckily no one was hurt.

The whole thing was captured on video and uploaded to YouTube. The video already has more than a million views.

Statistically, getting hit by lightning is a three-thousand to one chance.