Disaster Survival

Extreme Heat

As scorching as it was, 2006 was really just a typical summer in many regards. A combination of soaring temperatures and severe thunderstorms left more than a million people in St. Louis and 100,000 in Queens, New York, sweltering without electricity or air conditioning for up to a week. Extreme heat and draught parched California, and nationwide accounted for 160 deaths – or right about average.

Almost every summer sees heat waves in one part of the U.S. or another. In fact, some of the deadliest are in temperate cities like St. Louis, New York, and Philadelphia, because temperature variability, not intensity, is really the most important factor in determining human sensitivity to heat. That's also why early season heat waves are associated with higher mortality – people in northern climes tend to acclimate as the summer goes along.

So, while some of the following may be familiar, it bears repeating:

  • Prepare for a heat wave by testing to make sure your home's air conditioning is working properly. Make sure your insulation is up to snuff and you have weather stripping around your doors and windows to keep the cool air inside.
  • Drink plenty of fluids, eat light, well-balanced meals, and limit your alcoholic intake.
  • Plan on being inside and avoid strenuous physical labor during the warmest parts of the day.
  • Never leave children or pets alone in a closed vehicle.
  • Check on seniors. If you know of anyone elderly in an un-air conditioned home apartment, help evacuate them immediately.
  • If anyone starts experiencing the symptoms of heat exhaustion (profuse sweating, pale or flushed skin color, dizziness, nausea, headaches), get the person into a cool environment and slowly hydrate with a glass of water every 15 minutes.
  • With heat stroke (high body temperature, red skin, shallow breathing, and rapid, weak pulse), do the same as for heat exhaustion and call 911 immediately.

And if you've put off completing your checklist in the Prepare Now section – particularly the proscriptions for batteries, flashlights, alternative cooking and a generator, and having ample supplies of water and nonperishable food – please do it before the temperature starts spiking. Unless you want to end up like those poor people last summer railing at the TV cameras in Queens and St. Louis.