On Monday, the temperature reached 103 degrees in North Texas. In southern Oklahoma, it was 100 degrees-plus for the 40th day since the middle of June although the north part of the state got a bit of a break with readings in the low 80s. Fifteen heat-related deaths have been recorded in Oklahoma, where Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman was meeting Monday with farmers hit by the drought and heat wave. Glickman, traveling by car, was to continue into Texas Tuesday. Also Monday, the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs said it would be the lead agency administering the state's share of the federal emergency money earmarked for low-income families with high utility bills resulting from the heat wave.
Actual disbursements are to come from local community action agencies.
We'll help you take care of it. Your health is more important. And Labor Secretary Alexis Herman issued a heat alert to the nation's growers and migrant farm workers, advising employers to provide plenty of water for workers and take other precautions to protect them from heat dangers. No farm workers, however, have been among the fatalities blamed on the heat. Some farmers in Texas have suggested a tropical storm or hurricane would be the cure for the drought.