OTTAWA: Scores of people have succumbed in Canada amid a record heatwave that has smashed an 84-year-old record.
Canadian news channels reported that around 500 unusual deaths have been reported in parts of the country over the past week as Vancouver among different cities sizzled in scorching hot weather.
Around 98 deaths occurred in Vancouver, west coast seaport in British Columbia, where law enforcers said two-thirds of the victims were elderly citizens [aged 70 or more] while 100 others reported in Surrey and Burnaby combined.
International media reports quoting sources said many of the people found dead in recent days were found in places that were not well ventilated and lived alone.
Officials also revealed that the figures released were preliminary and would likely to surge in coming days. Reports suggest that officials are still working to determine the number of exact deaths which are directly related to the sweltering heat that’s broken national temperature records.
The recent deaths [till Wednesday] reported depicting a 195 percent increase over the number of deaths that would normally be expected over a five-day period.
The North American country smashed a national heat record on Sunday when the temperature in British Columbia touched 116 degrees Fahrenheit, breaking an 84-year-old record by nearly 3 degrees.
Meanwhile, schools in British Columbia were closed on some of the days, given that many buildings are not fitted with the proper cooling systems.
Amid the scorching hot, power authority in B.C saw record-breaking electricity use with some local power outages reported across the system.
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