Final answer:
The best way to protect an electronic device during an electrical storm is to unplug it. Surge protectors and UPS can offer limited protection, but may fail against a direct lightning strike. Electrical safety devices like circuit breakers and GFIs are important for preventing hazards, but unplugging is the safest action.
Step-by-step explanation:
To protect an electronic device during an electrical storm, the safest and most effective action is to unplug the device. This ensures that it is not exposed to power surges that can occur when lightning strikes a power line or a transformer. While surge protectors and Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) can offer some protection against minor surges, they may not withstand the extreme power of a direct lightning hit. Hence, they are not the most reliable options during severe electrical storms. Electrical safety devices, such as circuit breakers and ground fault interrupters (GFI), are designed to protect from thermal and shock hazards by interrupting excessive currents or detecting loss of current, but the best defense against lightning is disconnection from the power source.