Record-Breaking Heat Kills 2 in Seattle and Possibly More Than 100 in Canada, Officials Say
Ted S Warren/AP/Shutterstock
At least two people in Seattle — and possibly hundreds more in nearby British Columbia — have died of heat-related illness in the wake of a record-breaking heat wave sweeping through the Pacific Northwest.
A 65-year-old Seattle woman and a 68-year-old woman from Enumclaw died of hyperthermia, which is an abnormally high body temperature, the King County Medical Examiner's Office said, according to the Seattle Times.
On Monday alone — a day when the city broke the all-time temperature high when it hit 108 degrees — 223 people reportedly visited King County emergency departments for illnesses related to the heat.
"It felt very much like what happened in the initial days of trying to deal with the original outbreak [of the coronavirus]," Dr. Steve Mitchell, medical director of the emergency department at Harborview Medical Center, told the Times. "We got to the point where facilities were struggling with basic equipment, like ventilators."
Ted S Warren/AP/Shutterstock A hydration station in Seattle
Dr. Jeremy Hess, attending physician at the hospital, told the outlet that most of his patients were older people who did not have air conditioning, and were found to be very ill by other people checking up on them. He said that many suffered heatstroke, and had to be put on ventilators after suffering from kidney or heart problems.
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Older people — along with young children and infants, pregnant women and people with chronic medical conditions — are more vulnerable to high temperatures because their bodies are unable to regulate their body temperatures in the same way that younger, healthy adult bodies are, according to NPR.
Meanwhile, officials in the Canadian province of British Columbia said that at least 233 people in the area died between Friday and Monday — 100 more deaths than the typical average over a four-day period, Reuters reported.
Ted S Warren/AP/Shutterstock
In the city of Vancouver, where temperatures have hovered around the high 90s, police have responded to 65 sudden deaths since Friday, according to CNN.
"Since the onset of the heat wave late last week, the BC Coroners Service has experienced a significant increase in deaths reported where it is suspected that extreme heat has been contributory," the BC Coroners Service said in a statement, according to Reuters.
As coroners work to gather additional information as to the cause and manner of the deaths, and whether heat played a role, officials said they expect the numbers to rise, CNN reported.
The British Columbia city of Lytton hit 117.5 degrees on Monday, setting the record for the highest temperature ever recorded in Canada, according to the outlet.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that extreme heat kills more than 700 people each year in the United States.
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If you see someone suffering heat exhaustion, get them to a cooler, air-conditioned place, have them drink water if they're fully conscious and have them take a cool shower or use a cold compress. Symptoms include feeling faint or dizzy, excessive sweating, cool, pale or clammy skin, nausea or vomiting, a rapid and weak pulse and muscle cramps.
Signs of heat stroke, meanwhile, are similar but slightly different — and require immediate medical attention. Experts advise calling 911 if you or someone you know exhibits symptoms such as a throbbing headache, no sweating, a body temperature of about 103 degrees, red, hot, dry skin, nausea or vomiting, rapid, strong pulse and a possible loss of consciousness.
