More deaths blamed on US heatwave
Pastor Dale Morgan
More deaths blamed on US heatwave*
The heatwave affecting parts of the eastern US has been blamed for
causing a string of deaths and triggering a record demand for electricity.
Scattered power blackouts were reported on the eastern seaboard of the
US as temperatures reached up to 101F (38C).
Authorities have blamed the heat for causing the deaths of at least 13
people since Sunday, and suspect it may have contributed to seven more.
Heat warnings have been posted from Massachusetts to parts of Oklahoma.
Cooling centres
In Boston, a pregnant woman is thought to have died from the heat as she
watched a Red Sox baseball game, though post mortem examination results
are pending. Medics at a nearby hospital were able to save her baby.
The blistering heat is also thought to have caused the death of an
18-month-old boy in a van about 60 miles (97km) north-east of Lexington,
Kentucky.
On Wednesday, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg urged residents to
conserve energy to avoid the blackouts experienced last month.
According to AP, Consolidated Edison, the company which serves New York
electricity customers, set its second record in two days for peak power
demand.
I've been here when it's been 10 below zero, and the fruit actually
freezes, so this weather is no problem-Costas Katemis-Boston fruit vendor
The temperature was expected to reach as high as 98F(37C) in the city on
Thursday, according to CNN.
Across the city, 383 "cooling centres" were opened, and public pools
kept open for extended hours.
Costas Katemis, a fruit vendor outside Boston's South Station train
terminus, shrugged off the heat.
"I've been here when it's been 10 below zero, and the fruit actually
freezes, so this weather is no problem," he said.
At Boston's Franklin Park Zoo, animals were fed with frozen lollipops -
blood for lions, fruit for monkeys - in an effort to cool them down.
Dodging the heat
Philadelphia, New York City and Washington DC saw maximum temperatures
of 38C (100F) on Wednesday.
New York City has not seen such a string of hot temperatures since July
1999.
National Weather Service meteorologist Dennis Feltgen said the
temperatures were "extremely dangerous".
The use of lifts in New York has been reduced in city administration
buildings in a bid to conserve energy and major private companies have
also announced conservation measures.
The mayor's office has issued guidelines for the use of air-conditioning
in homes, urging people not to leave it on when not at home.
Last month, thousands of people in the New York borough of Queens
endured high temperatures with no electricity, after distribution cables
failed.
In California, the record 15-day heatwave was blamed for 136 deaths and
widespread power cuts, but temperatures have now cooled.