B.C. summer heatwave claimed at least 595 lives

The BC Coroners Service has updated the number of lives lost during the deadly heatwave over the summer to at least 595. Those deaths were a direct result of the heat, the service says, with the majority happening in the week leading up to Canada Day.

The heat dome was the deadliest weather event in Canadian history, with many communities reporting temperatures topping 40 degrees.

A preliminary investigation estimated 800 deaths were connected to the heat, but the data has now been updated.

The new numbers released Monday also show the highest number of deaths were recorded on June 28 (131 deaths) and June 29 (231 deaths).

On those days, the humidex at the Vancouver International Airport hit 39 degrees, according to records from Environment Canada.

Several of the deaths outside of that time period were due to injuries sustained during the heat dome period.

The majority of the fatalities were among people aged 70 and older (69 per cent), and residents living in Vancouver, Surrey, or Burnaby.

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Fraser North reported the highest with 17.4 deaths per 100,000. Almost all of them, 96 per cent, died at home.

No children died because of the heat, according to the report.

The service says it will investigate each of the deaths and an expert panel will draw up a list of recommendations to prevent similar heat-related tragedies.

“While we expect the findings of the death review will significantly contribute to efforts to increase public safety, we must take steps to prepare for future extreme weather events now,” chief coroner Lisa Lapointe said.

“The effects of climate change are both real and unpredictable. Having a plan to regularly check in with loved ones who live alone, being aware of cooler and air-conditioned areas in your neighbourhood, and heeding early warnings about extreme weather are simple steps that will help ensure we are all properly prepared and safe.”

The report and recommendations should be done before next summer, according to the BC Coroners Service.

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The provincial government was slammed for not providing enough warning and doing enough, like opening cooling centres for longer hours and issuing a weather alert leading up to the heat.

The province has also been criticized for the response from emergency services.

A flood of calls to 911 resulted in long wait times for people who required ambulances, and compounded the ongoing problem of wait times.

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One ambulance dispatcher told CityNews they were not prepared for it, saying it was a “complete collapse” of the system.

Things also came to a head when Premier John Horgan, when pressed on the issue, said he would wait for the final coroner’s report because “fatalities are a part of life.” He later walked back that comment.

But Dr. Jatinder Baidwan with the coroners service says the data showing 70 per cent of deaths involved people aged 70 and over was not “unexpected.”

“Because we know that when people are older, they tend to have more chronic disease burden, and their ability to sort of withstand any sort of rapid changes in environmental conditions is harder than someone that’s perhaps younger and more aerobically fit.”

He notes it is important British Columbians don’t wait for the reports to tell them what they already know.

“We are an incredibly polite society, and we don’t want to infringe on each other’s turf and we don’t want to bother each other too much,” he said. “But the right thing to do when there’s heat is to actually bother people and make sure they’re okay.”

Baidwan says we already know what happens in extreme heat, and everyone should check in on their neighbours, as we “all know what the effects of not being prepared are.”

“We all know what we can expect if we get heat stress, we know what the symptoms are. But we just have to keep on reminding ourselves and build some community-based response to this,” he noted.

“People shouldn’t be waiting for all of that to be told by someone. They should have worked out the answers themselves, because we have all the answers now.”

With files from Hana Mae Nassar, Denise Wong, Lasia Kretzel and Monika Gul