Over 700 Sudden Deaths in Canada Due to 'Disaster-Level Heatwave'

Photo by AFP

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] Over 700 people have died suddenly in Canada due to a record-breaking heatwave that swept across the western North American region.

On the 3rd (local time), AP News and others reported that the number of deaths has sharply increased since the heatwave began on the 25th.

The British Columbia provincial government reported that 719 people died suddenly during the week-long heatwave, which is three times the number of deaths that normally occur.

They also forecast that the number of victims from the heatwave will continue to rise as the high temperatures cause an increase in deaths.

British Columbia recently suffered from temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius, and on the 30th of last month, some areas saw maximum temperatures approach 50 degrees Celsius.

Deaths are also occurring one after another in the northwestern U.S. states of Oregon and Washington. Oregon reported 95 deaths during the heatwave period, with Multnomah County, including Portland, having the highest number of fatalities.

Washington state reported about 30 deaths related to the scorching heat.

Hospitals in the northwestern U.S. are also overwhelmed with emergency patients due to the heatwave. The Washington State Department of Health stated that from the 25th of last month to the 1st of this month, 1,792 people visited emergency rooms for heat-related illnesses, and 21% of them required hospitalization.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.