The worst day for deaths was July 29, with five deaths recorded.
Sixteen people died of heat-related illnesses in British Columbia during the longest heat wave on record in the summer of 2022, according to preliminary data released by the British Columbia Coroners Service.
The total covers the period from July 26 to August 3. The worst day for deaths was July 29, with five deaths recorded.
By comparison, the British Columbia Coroner’s Office confirmed that 619 people died in Canada’s worst natural disaster in history, the British Columbia heat dome from June 25 to July 1, 2021.
“The data is considered preliminary and subject to change after the medical examiner’s investigations are completed,” the Aug. 9 report said. “This data is collected from the date of notification to the medical examiner, which may differ from the date of injury.”
Half of the 16 deaths occurred in the Fraser Health area and six in Inland Health. Only one each has been registered so far with Vancouver Coastal and Island Health.
Six of the deaths were in the 70 to 78 age group. There were two each in the 40-49 and 50-59 age groups, three in the 60-69 age group and three in the 80 and over age group.
Vancouver police and Surrey RCMP said they saw no noticeable increase in overall sudden death calls between July 26 and August. 1. There were 28 calls in Vancouver, more than the seven-day average of 23, and 14 in Surrey. Neither police department was able to say how many were heat-related and referred questions to the medical examiner.
Environment Canada issued heat warnings for most of the province on July 25, lasting until August 1. Many areas saw temperatures 10 degrees Celsius above normal, and daily records fell throughout the interior, Lower Mainland and on Vancouver Island.
The heat wave was less severe than the record heat dome of late June 2021, when Lytton set a new Canadian record of 49.6 Celsius.
This time there was a greater emphasis on preventive messaging from provincial and municipal governments.
A June Coroners Service report found the NDP government and municipalities did not do enough to warn the public about the 2021 heat dome event. It cited a delay between Environment Canada’s official heat warnings and the response of public agencies.
More than 800 deaths were investigated, and 619 were believed to be heat-related — 98 percent of which occurred indoors. Most victims did not have access to cooler buildings or air-conditioned rooms, and many were elderly with chronic physical or mental illnesses.
The report didn’t include a timeline, but Environment Canada’s first alert came on June 23, 2021, with an ominous warning of record heat and an increased potential for heat-related illnesses. Neither the Ministry of Health nor the Ministry of Public Safety and the Attorney General called a press conference or issued a warning in 2021. They left it to the regional districts and municipalities.
Records released under Freedom of Information show that public health officials waited until the afternoon of June 25, 2021, to issue an extreme heat alert, but the official public bulletin was delayed in red tape for almost three hours.
Prime Minister John Horgan came under heavy criticism for telling reporters on 29 June 2021 that the public bore personal responsibility for the disaster and “deaths are part of life”.
Although the medical examiner’s report called the 2021 heat wave “unprecedented,” newspapers in 1925 reported a similar heat dome in the same days after the summer solstice up and down the West Coast. That contributed to wildfires, including one that burned most of the summer in the Capilano watershed.
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