As the Pacific Northwest is recovering from the record-breaking heat home, officials are revealing how much it has taken a toll on residents in the Seattle area, according to KOMO.
Officials said King County has seen dozens of doctors visits and thousands of emergency responses over the last four days due to the abnormal heat wave. Even though temperatures started to drop after Monday (June 28), dry conditions and sweltering heat continue to linger. As a result, many people were still seeking medical assistance, health officials said.
This is what reporters learned from the King County Medical Examiner's office:
- 94 visits to hospital rooms for heat-related illnesses on Sunday (June 26).
- 40 visits to hospital rooms for heat treatment on Saturday (June 27).
- 1,053 responses by the county's EMS system on Monday -- the peak so far.
- 700 responses by the King County EMS on Tuesday (June 29).
As of Wednesday (June 30), 13 people have died in the county in connection to the hot weather, health officials reported. Snohomish County officials said there were at least three heat-related deaths, as well.
Over 1,600 emergency visits were reported across Washington state due to heat-related illnesses since last Friday (June 25), according to the state Department of Health. Health experts also noted that the temperatures don't need to be in the triple-digits to trigger illnesses.
“While these temperatures were very extreme and really out of the norm for what we see here, we see heat exhaustion and stroke every summer," Dr. Meade told KOMO. "So, it doesn’t have to be 110 degrees to see this.”