Deaths due to the record-crashing heat wave in Oregon have reached 107 on Tuesday, officials said.
The Oregon State Medical Examiner said victims’ ages range from 37 to 97, as the state’s temperature hit three digits from June 25 to June 30.
The Multnomah County dubbed the catastrophe as a “mass casualty event” after they recorded 67 deaths – more than half of the state’s total fatalities linked to heatwaves.
In a news release, health authorities of the Multnomah Country said that hyperthermia was the alleged cause of all the fatalities. The said health condition happens when the body temperature exceeds the normal. Forty deaths were already concluded to have been caused by hyperthermia. The remaining deaths are yet to be ruled.
Victims in the county are in the age range of 44 to 97.
Based on the report of KATU, the local ABC affiliate, some of the victims were found lifeless in their residence without ventilation like air conditioning or fans.
On Monday, June 28, Portland logged a high of 116.
Oregon Live reported that included in the victims was the 38-year-old Guatemalan immigrant Sebastian Francisco Perez who came to the US last May 5. Perez was exposed to extreme heat while working at a tree farm and died on June 26.
Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury, said that the county responded to the natural disaster by placing three cooling centers that operate 24 hours. Nine cooling places were also provided as it also reached out to seniors, pregnant women and people with disabilities. More than 60 outreach teams were also deployed to pay attention to homeless people affected by the disaster, according to a report by ABC News.
Nine deaths were reported in Washington County; 11 in Clackamas County; and 13 in Marion.
