[zdragnar]

Surge protectors definitely help handling surges from distant strikes, but they won't survive a more direct one. Lightning measures in the millions of joules, well above what any available surge protector is rated for. Given that lightning is an arc through air, breaking the circuit once the surge has started won't save you if your circuit gets a direct or near-direct hit.

[foobarian]

Don't houses have spark gaps for that sort of thing? I don't remember this being a problem since I was a kid, when we used to have to unplug TVs and modems

Edit: come to think of it that's when I moved to New England so it could just be the nonexistence of lightning here. Which I do miss.

[zdragnar]

My parents lost their treadmill during a storm in a midwest US house built circa 1998. I think the power came as a surge through the grid rather than directly from the environment, though.