French heatwave kills 11,435 in two weeks

[demdave]

The heatwave that roasted France this summer killed 11,435 people in the first two weeks of August alone, making it, in human terms, one of the worst natural disasters in the country's history.


The government of Jean-Pierre Raffarin, prime minister, has been criticised for failing to snap out of holiday mode to implement measures that might have saved lives. The swath of deaths has also prompted wider soul-searching about modern family life and declining inter-generational solidarity.


http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1059479430867&p=1012571727088

[Kemet]

1. Correct me if

I'm wrong but i heard from the french radio (France-Info) yesterday that this number includes the "normal" deaths. Still it's an awful lot for 15 days and for a population of 50 millions.
Now it's the government that is taking the heat. Their answer? Well of course it's the people's fault for not showing solidarity to the elderly. So now they think of removing a holiday from the calendar to pay for a "fund" for our elderly.
I sincerely think that giving more money to health workers would be a more important step but hey... what do i know?

[realFedUp]

2. That this isn't a disease but just heat killing thousands

is tragic and there ought to be thoughtful discussions on what
could have been done to prevent these.

[hang a left]

3. someone help me to understand

I live in inland san diego county, it gets hot as hell here. upper 90's and low 100's in august and september, and i have no air conditioner. I never hear of anyone dying because it is so hot. I think that is a hec of alot of people to die from the heat. How could this be?

[Pastiche423]

5. I would like to understand that as well

Is due only to the heat and no a/c?

[SaintLouisBlues]

13. Sustained heat, night and day

In deserts like San Diego County it usually cools off at night.Also the human body cools much more
efficiently in dry desert air, versus the humidity in Europe. It is the cumulative effects of heat that do a person in.

If indoor temperatures stay above 90 degrees for a few days around the clock (plus the humidity, or heat index, and
it is 100 degrees as far as the body is concerned) the elderly (mainly) can't cope.

A cool respite at night or days spent in air conditioning allows these same people to survice.

The number of victims does not surprise me. Chicago lost over 700 in their 1995 heat wave, St. Louis 300
in the 1980 event, and both cities are used to heat waves and heavily AC'd, neither of which is true in France.

Check out this site showing the toll of recent heat waves. It claims 5,000-10,000 US dead in a 1988 event:
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0886145.html

[Kemet]

6. True.

I cannot say if this debate is really taking place because i'm not in france right now. But i guess there is a part of truth in the fact that there are problems in how our societies view the elder ones. Still I don't think it was the major factor in this tragedy. Of course the first thing that comes to mind is that France is poorly equipped and unprepared to face such heatwaves simply because it almost never happens. Second there is a real (and not new) problem with healthcare funding; ERs are understaffed and most public hospitals lack nurses. Health workers were demonstrating months ago and nothing has been done.
And yeah, someone should never grow old alone. To think that many bodies were still unclaimed at the morgues because the family members had bigger preoccupations like "hey we were not that close anyways why should we pay for the funeral?!?" or were unwilling to cut their vacations short. It's ugly but i don't think those thinking like that (wich is beyond my understanding) will debate over this. The government also doesn't seem to want a debate, they want to feel guilt free. Well everyone in france has a part of guilt in letting this happen.
What are your thoughts on the matter?

[Frederic Bastiat]

14. Folks have to take their vacation

Let the government take care if the sick and ill. Its their responsibility afterall because the government does everything in France.

:eyes:

[Wednesdays]

16. Yes, big bad awful government.

Uh-oh. Here's the government, coming to lend you a helping hand. Duck!

[BonjourUSA]

4. 62 million

;-)

[Kemet]

7. thanks for the correction

:) i'm still using the figures of my classbooks

[newyawker99]

19. Hi Kemet!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[FlemingsGhost]

8. God is clearly anti-French...

It's a national tragedy, I tell you.

So where are all the French flags? Any indication as to what churches, synagogues, temples and mosques the French will be bombing in retalition for God's wrath?

Perhaps it's time to close the French borders, and enclose the entire country in a temperature-controlled plastic dome.

[dArKeR]

9. Why doesn't the American media publish what happened in the other EU

countires? Only France!

http://darkerxdarker.tripod.com/

[Kellanved]

10. the other nations hit :

The UK, the Netherlands, Spain and Italy.

[PartyPooper]

11. This has been a "non-event"

as far as the U.S. media is concerned. :mad:

But, I am so saddened by the loss of so many lives in France and throughout Europe.

:-(

[SaintLouisBlues]

15. Heat waves not sexy enough for the media whores

Information on heat waves could extend hundereds of elderly lives every year in this country, but noooo.

However, our elderly are well-versed on Kobi, Laci, et al.

They may not know the perils of prolonged heat, but boy our oldsters know what to do when sharks attack.

The only times these stories even make the broadcast news is when they have pictures of refrigerated
trucks at the overflowing morgue. Bastards!

[Kool Kitty]

12. This is my cynical take on why

the press in this country is only talking about what happened in France: The French didn't support us in this war, and out of all the countries that didn't support us, they fixated on the French. (Remember "freedom fries"?) Maybe the morons feel that this is some sort of "divine retribution" for not going along with President Action Doll. They are just screwed up enough to feel that way. This is a senseless tragedy, so many lost lives.

[realFedUp]

18. you're right

world sympathy should be for wherever natural disaster
happens...floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, disease...

get in touch with your godside.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

17. You Wouldn't Believe the Callous Comments from Americans

about this tragedy.

France was not prepared for weeks of 100 degree temperatures in a country where they barely reach 80 degrees in the middle of summer.

The French reached out to us during our national tragedy a few weeks back, and Americans treat France's tragedy jokingly. It's truly shameful.