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Lightning Strikes N.J. Home, Knocks Out Power

ROCKAWAY, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- There was a close call for a Garden State family Thursday morning, when lightning struck their home.

The crack of thunder was so loud it caused temporary hearing loss, CBS 2's Vanessa Murdock reported.

"We were just a little shaken up," Catherine Prall said

A busted bathroom mirror and a charred wall were the marks left by Mother Nature on Lake Shore Drive. The lightning hit the house while Prall was making breakfast for her 2-year-old daughter Jocelyn.

Prall was closest to the strike. She said as the bolt lit up her kitchen she stood just beyond a window.

"The window was open and I was standing at my side and as the sound came through it blasted my ear and I couldn't hear anything for 30 seconds or so," Prall said.

When her hearing returned she said she heard the fire alarm. She said her husband looked around and found the brunt of the damage in the bathroom, though a phone did blow off the wall and the power was knocked out.

Splintered wood left behind suggested the bolt of lightning first passed through a tree and then grounded inside the home.

The fire department arrived on the scene, but thankfully fire was not a factor. The family suspects they'll have to replace most of the electronics in their home.

No serious injuries were reported.

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