Heat blamed for at least 16 deaths in 7 states
Pastor Dale Morgan
*Perilous Times and Global Warming
Heat blamed for at least 16 deaths in seven states*
Thursday, July 20, 2006 Posted: 1754 GMT (0154 HKT)
TULSA, Oklahoma (AP) -- Officials in several states urged residents,
especially the elderly, to stay cool as forecasters predicted high
temperatures would continue in parts of the South and the Southern
Plains for another two days.
Meanwhile, the death toll from the heat wave that has baked much of the
nation for nearly a week has increased, with four more deaths in the
Chicago area bringing the total number there to seven, officials said.
So far, the heat has contributed to the deaths of at least 16 people in
seven states, including two in the Philadelphia area, two in Oklahoma
City, two in Arkansas and one each in Indiana, South Dakota and Tennessee.
A football player at a western Kentucky high school collapsed and died
after practice Wednesday, but school officials could not say whether
heat played a role in his death.
Chicago officials have asked residents to check on elderly or sick
neighbors in an effort to avoid duplicating a 1995 heat wave that killed
700 people.
Three deaths in Oklahoma and Arkansas involved elderly residents and
either malfunctioning or unused air conditioners.
In Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, the heat has been blamed for the death of
two people, including a 76-year-old man who died in a home with a broken
air conditioner and a 62-year-old woman who died in a home where the air
conditioner was turned off.
In Arkansas, a friend of a 76-year-old North Little Rock woman who was
found dead in her apartment Tuesday said the woman had refused to turn
on her air conditioner.
The elderly frequently refuse to run the air conditioning because of the
cost, said Ann Leek, vice president of central Arkansas CareLink, which
provides services for nearly 1,000 elderly people.
"Because so many of them are on fixed-income or low-income because they
live alone they have that juggling act of paying rent, buying
prescription drugs and running the air conditioner," Leek said.
In Omaha, Nebraska, the housing authority spent $25,000 to install
window air conditioners in apartments used by elderly and disabled
residents.
"It's a humanitarian thing," said Brad Ashford, the agency's executive
director. "It got to me personally. I just felt we needed to do this."