One Multnomah County resident is suspected to have died from the past weekend’s heatwave, county officials report.
According to the county’s medical examiner, the unidentified person died on Sunday, August 15, a day that saw temperatures reach 94 degrees in Portland. The county won’t be able to confirm for sure that the heat caused this person’s death until their investigation concludes in several weeks. No other deaths in Multnomah County have been reported to be linked to last week’s heatwave, which reached a high of 103.
The last time Portland saw its temperatures skyrocket in late June, 62 Multnomah County residents died from heat-related issues. The majority of those who died lived alone and without air conditioning, according to a report released by the county. Most peopled died 72 hours after the heatwave first hit record-breaking highs on June 26. At the time, Multnomah County Health Officer Jennifer Vines explained that this was because the body’s natural cooling systems start to experience stress after 48 hours of high heat.
This could also explain why last weekend’s suspected heat-related death occurred 72 hours after the heatwave’s climax.
The June heatwave was markedly hotter than last week’s—with local temperatures hitting 116. The death toll of that heat event inspired county and city agencies to expand their outreach and services to those particularly vulnerable to high temperatures. This included opening more cooling shelters to the public and sending out emergency text and phone alerts to Multnomah County residents.
It’s not clear if it was these efforts, the cooler temperatures, or another factor that kept this latest heat wave’s death toll so low. County officials will release more information on the sole death later this month.
