Weakest 'Drop Like Flies' As 50 Die In French Heatwave

The Telegraph (UK) ^ | 8-12-2003 | Philip Delves

[blam]

Weakest 'drop like flies' as 50 die in French heatwave

By Philip Delves Broughton in Paris
(Filed: 12/08/2003)

The elderly are dying "like flies" because of the relentless heat, French doctors said yesterday as undertakers warned that their mortuaries were full.

Paris endured its hottest night since records began in 1873 early yesterday with temperatures of at least 76F (24C), following a day of more than 100F (37F). There was not even the slightest breeze to relieve the furnace conditions.

Nuclear plants have been forced to reduce their electicity output by the intense heat and industry chiefs held an emergency meeting with government officials yesterday to discuss how to stave off power cuts.

Patrick Pelloux, the head of the emergency doctors' union, said the heatwave had claimed 50 lives over the past four days in Paris alone.

The state health advisory said it was difficult to link the heat to specific deaths, but admitted that it was clearly a factor in the rising death rate.

"The weakest are dropping like flies," M Pelloux said. "We've never seen people arriving sick in cartloads like this, frequently with fevers.

"I totally reject the fatalistic view of the national health authority that these are deaths from natural causes. So be it, but what are we supposed to do, sit and watch people fade away? That's intolerable, something has to be done."

France's leading funeral director, Michel Minard, said there was no more space in the capital's funeral parlours and that the newly deceased were being held in refrigerated capsules at their homes until space cleared for them to be taken away. Cemeteries have extended their working hours to accommodate the rush of burials.

M Minard said his company dealt with 50 per cent more deaths in the Paris region last week than in the same period last year, 825 compared to 550, and attributed it to the heat.

The threat to power supplies from France's nuclear industry, which provides more than three-quarters of the country's electricity, comes because its reactors are all located on rivers and coastline.

This enables them to drink up water for cooling before returning it to the rivers and sea at a slightly warmer temperature. But with the heatwave driving up outside water temperatures, plants have been forced to cut output because of limits on the temperature of the water they release.

Several reactors, including the Tricastin plant on the Rhone just north of Provence, have been given temporary permission to release even warmer water than usual from their coolers in order to help them through the summer.

Before the meeting about possible power cuts, the industry minister, Nicole Fontaine, said,: "The situation is very serious. There's no more margin for manoeuvre, it's essential that citizens are ready to accept the consequences."

Both the heat and increased demand for electricity have created the situation, and forced EDF, the state electricity supplier, to fall back on coal-fired generators to make up the shortages. France hopes to avoid what has already happened in Italy, where the heatwave has exposed an ill-run electricity industry.

Italy has already experienced extensive power cuts, caused in part by countries such as France restricting the supply of power to their neighbour to provide for their own needs.

The Italian government is now broadcasting television advertisements advising people to turn out lights and use their dish washers and washing machines only at night so as not to overload the system.

The dry weather and heat has turned French agriculture on its head. Grapes will be picked almost a month earlier than usual and the cornfields were harvested weeks ago.

In the Correze, 713 piglets died on Sunday night for lack of ventilation in their sties. In Paris, the trees are shedding their crinkled, brown leaves with autumn barely in view.

The head of the Paris mosque, Dalil Boubakeur, has called on Muslims to pray for rain.

[Petronski]

Their hospitals are 'flooded' with patients, as they said on the news this evening, but care is hampered because August is vacation month in France, and there has as of yet been a reluctance to call doctors off of vacation.

[Consort]

At what temperature does French cheese melt and become a danger to society.

[hole_n_one]

A nurse helps a patient to drink at
Bordeaux' hospital emergency as a
punishing heat wave dragged into its
second week in France.(AFP/Patrick Bernard)

[DoctorMichael]

Does this mean that the procees of turning over the country to the Iz-slamists will be accelerated by having all those old members of Vichy France die off?

[Crawdad]

Man, it's really got to be smelly over there. Pepe LePew is probably holding HIS nose.

[Desdemona]

And with diminished resources for power, loaning them massive air conditioning capacity is useless.

The temps cited in the article are par for the course here, but if you're not used to it and don't know how to deal with it, people are going to die.

It would help them to put down the wineglasses and drink some water, just for a bit.

[X-FID]

The head of the Paris mosque, Dalil Boubakeur, has called on Muslims to pray for rain.

That should help the situation a lot.

[goose1]

And thats a problem??

[Vesuvian]

What's causing the power shortages? Air conditioners are very rare in Eurpoe. Are they leaving the refrigerator door open or something?

[Little Bill]

Blam;

My daughter just got back from central 'bama 107 with 85% humidity, the Euro's are effete.

[Desdemona]

The power capacity over there is limited anyway (and DC besides), but the plants are on the rivers and with a drought and higher temps, there's less water and it's hotter. The article explains that the nuclear plants use river water to cool the reactors.

You get the idea that this wasn't anticipated.....

[GSWarrior]

Another reason to be thankful we live in America.
There but for the Grace of God go I.

[glorgau]

Air conditioners are very rare in Eurpoe.

Air conditioning, how about bathing? I remember being in Germany during the summer. Whenever it got warm, the people got ripe! It was the equivalent of Blue Cheese.

[LibWhacker]

FRENCH FRY PING!

[July 4th]

Most people don't have A/C in their apartments, and the apartments within Paris aren't conducive to air flow. Despite large windows, many face enclosed spaces. People on the middle floors, with no A/C or breeze, are living in ovens.

[AD from SpringBay]

Air conditioning, how about bathing?

But don't you see - if the French and Germans bathed there would be one less thing for them to look down their noses about the United States. Haven't you heard, we are obsessed with the wrong things, cleanliness being among them.

[Vesuvian]

D'oh, didn't see that part. That's what I get for posting under the influence of football.

Looks like the fell into the trap of "That could never possibly happen therefore we don't have to plan what to do when it does because it won't." So when that event does occur everyone runs around doing their best Chicken Little impersonation.

[Vesuvian]

They don't use deodorant too- I took a shower every day I was there and my relatives thought I was nuts.

You'd think that in that kind of heat they'd want to bathe if only to cool off.

[RightWhale]

It's hot, here, too, 49 this morning, and the humidity is pushing 70%. OTOH, it could snow in about 3 weeks, and that snow could still be on the ground in May. Happened 10 years ago like that. It takes about a week after first snow for people to stop driving summer style, after half the people have been in the ditch or worse.