We stand under trees as lightning dances over the golf course. We drive across bridges as floodwaters rush over, and around barricades as snow piles up. Or we refuse to evacuate sweltering buildings. Many of the more than 700 victims of the July 10-15 heat wave were elderly people too afraid or frail or unaware of the danger, to leave their homes or even to open a window. There is sort of a sense this isn't really happening.
Heat is one of the most lethal weather phenomena.
Kalkstein, at the University of Delaware's center for climatic research, says more than 1,000 people will die of heat-related causes in the USA's 15 biggest cities in an average summer. The elderly are the most vulnerable because heat puts more stress on weak hearts and bodies less capable of controlling internal temperatures. Some of Wisconsin's 110 victims were people taking medications, including anti-psychosis drugs, that limited their ability to keep cool. The fear of crime is so great that a woman hospitalized by the heat still will not allow Rice to pry open her window and install a free air conditioner. But many heat victims are apparently healthy people who overdo physical activities or don't drink enough water.