Hundreds believed dead in heat wave despite efforts to help
Source: AP
By ANDREW SELSKY an hour ago
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Many of the dead were found alone, in homes without air conditioning or fans. Some were elderly — one as old as 97. The body of an immigrant farm laborer was found in an Oregon nursery.
As forecasters warned of a record-breaking heat wave in the Pacific Northwest and western Canada last weekend, officials set up cooling centers, distributed water to the homeless and took other steps. Still, hundreds of people are believed to have died from Friday to Tuesday.
An excessive heat warning remained in effect for parts of the interior Northwest and western Canada Thursday.
The death toll in Oregon alone reached 79, the Oregon state medical examiner said Thursday, with most occurring in Multnomah County, which encompasses Portland. ...........................
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/canada-heat-waves-science-health-government-and-politics-ea770a153d84b8774190a96affe2c2e3
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I just wrapped myself in a couple of comforters....I gave my battery-powered "candles" to a neighbor with kids but had plenty of tea candles on hand. The actual weather OUTSIDE did not bother me, I lived many years in the midwest but yeah it sucked charging my cell phone in my car. I always have a generous supply of junk food around which came in very handy indeed! 
...failure of capitalism...
...not enough profit in keeping some people alive?
...plenty of money for tax breaks and giveaways for the 1%...
...not surprising when you have a fucked-up priority system and greed ruling the roost...
...like Scrooge, maybe local Republicans are decreasing the surplus population?
...could be...
Switzerland sends out letters to all seniors (anyone 62+ is considered to be a "senior"
each summer, asking whether we specifically want someone to check on us on a regular basis in case of a heat wave.
If we do not respond to the letters, they call and/or send visitors to check on us in person, just to be sure.
I understand that this is the case with all Swiss communes. Even the large cities are separated into smaller communes, each with its own representative government. We are supposed to register with the commune when we move into that district and it is the responsibility of each commune to take care of its citizens.
In 2020, during the pandemic, my commune also sent out letters asking us seniors whether we needed help with shopping or anything else and had a special task force ready to attend to those needs.
Fortunately, as a healthy and able-bodied person with a still - mostly - functioning mind who could use on-line shopping, I never needed the pandemic assistance. Nor have I ever needed the heat wave assistance - yet.
Like the Pacific NW, most of the houses and apartments here do not have A/C because we've really never needed it.
But the current experience in the US and Canada is literally unprecedented. The advice from Australia upthread seems to be good.
We all need to take the initiative to be good to others - especially those who are most vulnerable.
