More Than 100 Deaths May Be Tied to Heat Wave in NW North America

More than 100 deaths in the Pacific Northwest of North America may have been caused by hyperthermia, authorities in the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington and the Canadian province of British Columbia said, as the region experienced record-shattering high temperatures this week.

Oregon officials said Wednesday that at least 63 people throughout the state — 45 of them in Multnomah County — died in connection to the high temperatures. According to the county's health officer, Multnomah County, which includes Portland, the state’s largest city, recorded only 12 deaths from hyperthermia between 2017 and 2019. Portland and Seattle both recorded temperatures as high as 46 degrees Celsius since Friday.