'Living Close to Hell'- Historic Heat Wave Blamed for Killing 63 in Oregon

A historic heatwave in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western US was currently held accountable for killing 63 people in Oregon, with 45 of deaths coming from the Portland area.

The record-breaking temperature lingered recently over the weekend in the northwestern U.S. and western Canada. According to Oregon State Police Spokesperson Tim Fox, 45 people in Portland died as of Wednesday, with more to go on the report of the Multnomah County's medical examiners. The victims ranged from 44 to 97 years, with most of them already having existing health conditions.

Meanwhile, other cities like Vancouver also experienced dozens of heat-related deaths with extreme rising temperature to blame. On Friday, 'sudden deaths' reached up to 63 people according to Vancouver police.

'Feels Like Living Close to Hell'

Two people from Seattle failed to escape death due to hyperthermia as reported by King County medical examiners. A lot of people don't have air conditioning in their homes which made surviving in the area felt like 'living close to hell'. Moreover, three men from Snohomish County and an agricultural worker at an Oregon nursery suffered from heat stroke and eventually died as well.

Overall, over two dozen deaths from heatwaves were recorded from the Vancouver suburb.

9 miles east of Vancouver, 25 deaths were recorded in a span of 24 hours on Tuesday with majority of deaths also linked to extreme heat, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Burnaby said in a news release. Similar events also happened in the nearby town of Surrey. Reports added that some died from drowning while trying to cool off.

With the extreme heat in the region, a lot of businesses were also affected and closed due to the rolling electricity blackouts. Betsy Robertson, a Red Cross spokesperson in Seattle told ABC News that they unprepared for all these consequences.

Extreme Heat Responsible for Weather-related Deaths in the U.S

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), an average of 138 lives were lost every year from 1990 through 2019 due to excessive heat. Over the years, the mortality rate has reached up to 600 deaths per year according to statistics data compiled by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As usual, global warming holds a large contribution on the growing numbers since the 1960s.

Governor of Washington DC Jay Inslee described the heat wave as the beginning of a 'permanent emergency' in the Northwest.

Major cities in the US have increased its heat wave seasons from two per year in the 1960s to more than six per year in the 2010s. Climate change has contributed at least 3 to 5 degrees of warming temperatures over most of these US cities, with Portland's heat rising to over 95 degrees each year.

As the globe continues to warm, heat waves are expected to be felt more frequently than before, including the Pacific Northwest which has warmed the most in summer, according to a NOAA analysis.