Yep, some strange stuff can happen at times like that.
Power phase hits another phase, power hits phone circuits, falling branch or tree rip cables out of terminal boxes etc.
Had a problem a few years ago & Telstra sent a bloke out to fit a heavy duty Earth wire from the connection box on the fascia to an Earth Stake, probably via a Resistor. Can't recall the problem.
Rural properties with open spans seem to cop this stuff a lot more than underground sytems but whatever it was they had encountered it previously & knew what action to take.
Even then, a Lightning strike to the ground can bugger up underground services within an area of some square kilometers, I was told.
Water leakage into pits also exacerbates the problem. Shouldn't but does.
I dips me lid to the power blokes in their cherry pickers swinging around in the wind & rain at the height of a storm while trying to get power restored. Usually adjacent to live stuff.
Not a job I'd choose.
