Poll: Ready for the heat wave?
Castanet Staff – June 7, 2022 / 7:30 p.m. | History: 371219
Photo: Grant D. Stovel
Last summer’s “heat dome” killed 15 people in Kelowna and another 17 in Kamloops, according to a new forensic investigation.
On Tuesday, the BC Coroners Service adjusted the number of deaths attributed to the June 2021 heat wave to 619, more than the 595 previously reported.
A total of 84 occurred in the region of Internal Health, which accounted for 14% of the heat-related deaths in the province between June 25 and July 1, 2021, when temperatures exceeded 45 ºC in the region.
Kelowna and Kamloops are the only cities in BC Interior among the dozen communities for which the report provides detailed statistics. Most of the fatalities occurred in the Lower Mainland.
BC Coroners Service has also found some clear patterns in how people die: 98% of deaths occurred indoors and deaths were higher among those with chronic illnesses such as schizophrenia, eating disorder. substances, epilepsy, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, depression, asthma, mood and anxiety disorders, and diabetes.
About a third of heat victims were 70 years of age or older and 56% lived alone.
Most of the deaths occurred in homes without fans or air conditioning.
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