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At least two people were reported Wednesday to have died as an oppressive heatwave smothered the US from the Midwestern plains to the east coast city streets of Washington.Jesus Tovas,a 47-year-old railway worker who collapsed last week in the southern-central state of Oklahoma, probably died of heat-related causes,the state's Medical Examiners Office said."That's what we think it was.Everything points to that,but we are waiting for the results of more tests,"chief medical investigator Kevin Rowland told AFP.Rowland confirmed press reports which said Tovas's body temperature was nearly 108 degrees Fahrenheit (42.2 C)when he was admitted to the Eastern Oklahoma Medical Center in the town of Poteau.Officials at the hospital refused to comment on the cause of death,citing confidentiality laws.In neighboring Arkansas,where soaring temperatures and high humidity pushed the heat index-what the temperature really feels like-up to 110 Fahrenheit (43.3 C), health department officials told AFP an elderly person had died in the latest heatwave to sweep the state.Another person died during a heatwave in June, spokeswoman Ann Wright said.The National Weather Service has issued heat advisories for states stretching from Kansas and Oklahoma in the heart of the US to Delaware,New Jersey and Maryland and down the east coast to northern Florida.A heat advisory means conditions will be too warm to allow the body to cool off and heat-related illness may occur, according to the National Weather Service's website."We advise people to drink lots of fluids,stay out of the sun,cool off in air conditioned areas,and check on the elderly,because they are more affected by the heat,"meteorologist Chris Hedge said.The weather center also warned against leaving pets or very young children in cars, "even with the windows slightly open because the temperature inside the car can quickly climb to 135 Fahrenheit" (57 C).The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), which provides electricity to seven of the states affected by the heatwave,reported a record demand for power as residents switched on air conditioners."On Tuesday, we set a new record of 32,888 megawatts and we could have a new peak today (Wednesday),depending on if we get late afternoon showers,"TVA spokesman Gil Francis told AFP."The temperature is supposed to be one degree more than yesterday,when it was in the mid- to upper 90s.And that's where it's supposed to stay for the week,so peak demand will be over 32,000 megawatts all this week."In Washington, five air conditioned "cooling centers"opened to provide relief for the homeless."We are also handing out water to homeless people on the streets,"Rosalind Redmond of the Washington Shelter Hotline told AFP.The Washington DC Housing Authority (DCHA) opened the geysers on fire hydrants at city-run housing developments."We have 'street showers' in housing developments where there are lots of kids,"Dena Michaelson,director of public affairs for DCHA told AFP as she returned from inspecting one of the gushing sources of relief from the heat.Temperatures in Washington are forecast to reach 102 Fahrenheit (38.8 C) by Sunday.The high temperatures have been caused by "warm humid air reaching northward from the Gulf of Mexico,and a warm air mass in place over the east.The dry ground conditions of the drought that has affected some places contribute to creating higher temperatures,"Hedge said.One of the areas hit by drought was the Tennessee River Valley, which has seen the lowest level of rainfall in 118 years,according to the TVA.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=070808200824.xjvf4sgp&show_article=1&catnum=0
As in the days of Noah...
