In the US and Canada facing scorching heat, many people were found dead in homes without air conditioners and fans, some of them up to the age of 97 years. Meteorologists have warned of record-breaking heat in the Pacific Northwest region and western Canada.
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In the wake of this warning, the authorities built cooling centres, distributed water to the homeless and took several other steps. Yet hundreds of people are feared dead from the heat from Friday to Tuesday. There is still a warning of severe heat in the interior areas of the Northwest Region and West Canada. The body of a migrant worker was found in a nursery in the state of Oregon in the US. Oregon’s medical examiner said Thursday that the death toll in this state alone has reached 79, with most deaths in Multnomah County.
In Canada, British Columbia’s chief coroner Lisa Lapointe said her office had received reports of at least 486 people “sudden and unexpected deaths” between Friday and Wednesday afternoon. He said that although it is too early to say how many of these deaths were due to heat, but these deaths are likely to be due to heat. Washington state officials have reported more than 20 deaths from the heat, but the number could rise.
The people who died in Oregon’s Multnomah County ranged in age from 67 to 97. County Health Officer Jennifer Vines said in an interview on Thursday that she was concerned about the loss of lives amid the weather forecast. The bodies of two people were found on a street in Bend, Oregon, where dozens of homeless people live in camps.
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Meteorologists said that there is a possibility of increasing heat in the Pacific Northwest region. The region is generally known for its cool and rainy weather and it experiences very little heat, so most people do not have air conditioners. In Seattle, Portland and many other cities of America, all heat records have been broken and in some places the mercury has crossed 46 degree Celsius.
