Here’s why elderly people are dying in Tarrant County homes in this Texas heat
Ten people have died in Tarrant County from hyperthermia since May, and the main cause has been elderly residents living without any air conditioners, officials with the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office said on Friday.
Triple-digit temperatures have burned North Texas for the past few weeks, and Tarrant County has seen its share of hot weather.
Officials with the medical examiner’s office on Friday released the county’s total of deaths related to the hot weather, which they began monitoring on May 1.
Hyperthermia is an abnormally high body temperature, according to the National Institutes of Health.
The first death was reported June 23, and the most recent one was Monday. Six men have passed away from hyperthermia and four women. The youngest was 58 and the oldest was 88.
Five of the people who died were living in a home without any air conditioners, according to the medical examiner’s office. Two people were found outside, but they were not experiencing homelessness. Another two people died while they were living in homes with no working air conditioner.
One person was found dead in a White Settlement home with the air conditioner turned off, according to officials at the medical examiner’s office.
Cooler days are not in the forecast for Tarrant County and North Texas.
For next week, temperatures will be at 100 degrees or higher, according to the National Weather Service in Fort Worth.
Here is the medical examiner’s death toll because of hyperthermia in Tarrant County:
▪ A 78-year-old Arlington woman died June 23; no air conditioner in the home.
▪ A 77-year-old Arlington man died July 9; no air conditioner in the home.
▪ An 88-year-old Fort Worth woman died July 9; found outside.
▪ A 71-year-old Fort Worth man died July 16; no air conditioner in the home.
▪ A 74-year-old Arlington woman died July 16; no air conditioner in the home.
▪ A 65-year-old man died July 17; no working air conditioner.
▪ A 58-year-old Fort Worth man died July 20; no working air conditioner.
▪ A 74-year-old White Settlement woman died July 21: air conditioner turned off.
▪ An 80-year-old Fort Worth man died July 23; no air conditioner in the home.
▪ An unidentified man died Monday; found outside.
