It was a stormy Thanksgiving the Taitano family of Dededo will never forget.

Eugene Taitano was in the kitchen of the house he built in 1997, at the stove preparing to roast a turkey Thursday morning at 8:15 when he heard a loud noise. Guam was experiencing heavy rainfall and a thunderstorm that morning as Typhoon Man-Yi passed about 225 miles southwest of Guam.

"A boom just came in really loud," he said. "We saw a bright flash." Blinded by the intense light, he flew backward. "I started to feel a tingling in my feet."

His wife Jackie was just a few feet away looking out the back door. "

I screamed. I heard my daughter say something hit me," she said.

The Taitanos' 25-year-old daughter, who is 8 months pregnant, was in the living room sitting on the sofa where she became covered in shattered glass and debris. Their youngest daughter was in the bathroom. Unsure of what had just happened, the family patriarch tried to gain control of the situation.

"Everybody calm down," he told his family.

Stepping into the living room to check on his daughter, Eugene Taitano heard glass crunching beneath his feet. He checked to make sure his oldest daughter was not seriously hurt and comforted his 10-year old.

"She was really crying," he said.

Jackie Taitano said at first the family didn't know what had just happened. A burning smell filled the house and her husband quickly shut off the breakers.

Attempting to clean up, they realized their water was out. As they inspected the exterior of their home, they found a hole about a foot in circumference blown into the concrete patio on one side of their house. In the driveway, another hole, this one several feet wide and at least a foot deep.

'We got struck by lightning'

"That's when I figured out: We got struck by lightning," said Eugene Taitano.

The Taitano home was struck not once and not twice, but possibly three times.

A third hole was blown into the living room where the ceiling meets the wall. A picture frame opposite the wall had holes in it and several glass objects on display had shattered.

The Taitanos called the mayor's office and the Guam Power Authority. A GPA crew arrived and shut off the power.

A day later the family was still reeling from the bizarre and frightening Thanksgiving Day experience. Returning from a visit with their home insurer, they assessed the situation with an electrician. A plan to dig up the underground power lines to check for damage was being formed.

The couple said they are being cautious and taking steps to make sure all is safe before moving to have the power restored.

Now staying with relatives next door, the Taitanos said they still celebrated Thanksgiving with friends and loved ones.

"I'm feeling confused," said Eugene Taitano, but still "thankful that we are fine."

As the family works to restore their home, he said they wondered about the chances this would happen to them.

"The question here is why?"

Storm-related deaths

Lightning is a major cause of storm-related deaths in the United States, the National Weather Service stated. A lightning strike can cause the heart to stop at the time of the injury, according to the weather service, although some victims may die a few days later if they are resuscitated but have suffered irreversible brain damage.