Telephone poles are known to be struck by lightning and there have been instances of people being killed.
Even a mobile phone used while being charged can transfer extreme voltages
Happy returns of the day, Venkat and thanks for the timely reminder. Had my TV go kaput few years back.
BTW, how about the telephone cable? does it have to be disconnected from the modem too? and is it safe to disconnect anything at all during a thunderstorm?