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British Columbia’s 2021 extreme heat deaths by health authority
The British Columbia Coroners Service death review examined 619 heat-related deaths. Its regional table assigns each case to the health authority where the injury occurred. Fraser recorded the highest count and rate among the five health authorities.
Sources checked
Death count
Scale · 0 deaths to 312 deaths
Population rate
Scale · 0 deaths per 100,000 to 15.9 deaths per 100,000
Switch views to see the difference between total deaths and deaths per 100,000 residents.
The table uses where the heat injury occurred
The five counts sum to 619. Fraser’s 312 deaths and Vancouver Coastal’s 145 account for about 74% combined. The report presents other geographic summaries as well. Here the unit is the health authority of injury. Source 1
Death date and heat injury date can differ
The panel says 576 of the reviewed decedents were injured during 25 June to 1 July. Its separate figure groups by date of death, with 137 on 28 June and 234 on 29 June. Keeping those timestamps distinct matters when comparing the series with the weather. Source 1
Counts and rates describe different regional burdens
Island had 55 deaths and Northern had 23. After accounting for the different populations, the reported rates were 6.3 per 100,000 for Island and 7.6 for Northern. Fraser led on both measures. Source 1
The review considered exposure settings and age
The report found that 67% of the people who died were aged 70 or older. The provincial release says 98% of deaths occurred indoors. The panel used the record to recommend stronger alert and response arrangements for future extreme heat. Source 1 Source 2