West Coast heat wave kills dozens, kills more in hospitals in Canada and US: NPR

Dozens of deaths along the US West Coast and in Canada’s Metro Vancouver area are being blamed on the ongoing record-breaking heat wave.

Authorities said at least six deaths in Washington and Oregon may be due to the heat wave that began in the area on Friday.

Temperatures topped in Portland No less than 116 degrees on Monday After at least three days of record temperatures. The area is starting to cool off now, according to the National Weather Service, but the heat has left its mark.

Oregon health officials said on Tuesday There was a sharp increase in emergency department visits for heat-related illnesses during elevated temperatures. Hundreds of Oregonians have visited emergency rooms for heat-related illnesses since Friday.

In Seattle, temperatures reached at least 108 degrees at one point and in Spokane, temperatures Reached 109 degreesThe highest temperature ever recorded there.

The King County Medical Examiner’s Office in Washington said two people died of hyperthermia, a condition in which the body becomes dangerously overheated, to me Seattle Times.

The Snohomish County Office of Medical Examiners reported Tuesday that three men, ages 51 and 77, died after suffering heatstroke at home, According to the Daily Herald in Everett, Washington.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that during 2004-2018, the United States had an average of 702 heat-related deaths annually (415 with heat as the primary cause and 287 as a contributing cause).

according to WHOHeat waves are among the most serious natural hazards, but they rarely get enough attention because the number of deaths and the destruction they cause is not always immediately apparent. From 1998 to 2017, more than 166,000 people worldwide died from heat waves.

Canadian police respond to a severe heat attack

The Canadian province of British Columbia has experienced a record high of about 115 degrees Fahrenheit over the past four days of “extreme heat,” officials said Tuesday.

The US National Weather Service notes the temperatures It reached 121 degrees in Leighton, British Columbia

Authorities said at least 233 people died in the county between Friday and Monday — 100 more than the four-day average.

It looks like the horrific trend may continue this week. As of 1:45 p.m. Tuesday, officers responded to 20 sudden death calls that day alone, Simi Hare, director of public affairs for the Vancouver Police Department, chirp.

Police said investigations into the causes of these deaths are still under investigation, but high temperatures are believed to have been a contributing factor in the majority of these cases. Most of the victims were elderly.

Vancouver Police Department He said Heat-related deaths “depleted frontline resources and severely delayed response times across the city”. They are redeploying dozens of officers and requiring people to only call 911 during an emergency.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) urge people In the Metro Vancouver area to check on loved ones and neighbors as the heat wave continues.