The worst day for fatalities was July 29, with five deaths recorded.
Sixteen people died of heat-related illnesses in British Columbia during the longest heat wave summer of 2022 so far, according to preliminary numbers released by the BC coroner’s service.
The total covers the period from July 26 to August 3. The worst day for fatalities was July 29, with five deaths recorded.
In comparison, the BC Coroners Service confirmed that 619 people died in the worst natural disaster in Canadian history, the BC heat dome from June 25 to July 1, 2021.
“The data is considered preliminary and subject to change as coroner’s investigations are concluded,” the Aug. 9 report said. “This data was collected by the coroner’s notification date, which may differ from the date of injury.”
Half of the 16 deaths occurred in the Fraser Health region and six in Interior Health. So far only one has been registered with Vancouver Coastal and Island Health.
Six of the deaths occurred in the age range between 70 and 78 years. There were two in the 40-49 and 50-59 age groups, three in 60-69 and three 80 and over.
Vancouver police and Surrey RCMP said they saw no noticeable increase in overall sudden death calls between July 26 and August. 1. There were 28 calls in Vancouver, more than the seven-day average of 23, and 14 in Surrey. Neither police department could say how many were heat-related and referred questions to the coroner.
Environment Canada issued heat warnings for most of the province on July 25 until August 1. Many areas saw temperatures 10 degrees Celsius above normal and daily records fell in the interior, Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island.
The heat wave was less severe than the record-breaking heat dome of late June 2021, when Lytton set a new Canadian record of 49.6 degrees Celsius.
This time, more emphasis was placed on preventive messages from provincial and municipal authorities.
A June report by the coroner’s service found that the NDP government and municipalities did not do enough to warn the public of the 2021 heat dome event. It cited a lag between official heat alerts from Environment Canada and the response of public agencies.
More than 800 deaths were investigated and 619 were deemed heat-related, 98% of which occurred indoors. Most of the victims did not have access to cooler buildings or air-conditioned spaces and many were elderly people with chronic physical or mental health conditions.
The report did not include a timeline, but Environment Canada’s first alert came on June 23, 2021 with an ominous warning of record-breaking heat and the high potential for heat-related illness. Neither the Ministry of Health nor the Ministry of Public Security and the Attorney General called a press conference or issued any notice in 2021. They left it to the districts and regional municipalities.
Records released under freedom of information show that public health officials waited until the afternoon of June 25, 2021, to declare an extreme heat alert, but the official public bulletin was delayed by bureaucracy for nearly three hours .
Prime Minister John Horgan came under heavy criticism for telling reporters on 29 June 2021 that the public had a level of personal responsibility for the disaster and that “fatalities are a part of life”.
Although the coroner’s report called the 2021 heat wave “unprecedented,” newspapers from 1925 reported a similar heat dome during the same days after the summer solstice above and below the west coast It contributed to wildfires, including one that burned most of the summer in the Capilano Basin.