HEATWAVE IN FRANCE 'CLAIMS 3,000 LIVES'... (Drudge Title)

Drudge Link to This is London/Reuters ^

[shadowman99]

Heatwave claims 3,000 lives

14 August 2003

The heatwave in France has caused some 3,000 deaths, directly or indirectly, since late July, France's national health authority said today.

The authority, part of the health ministry, gave the estimate in a statement, which also described the surge in death rates since July 25 "an epidemic of heat-related deaths".

Despite cooler weather in the north on Thursday, hospitals struggled with a flood of mainly elderly people suffering from hyperthermia and dehydration. The strain was set to increase over the long weekend beginning tomorrow.

"I think we can now qualify what is happening as a genuine epidemic," Health Minister Jean-Francois Mattei told France Inter radio.

Hospitals set up refrigerated tents to cope with the surge in casualties and
the medical staff were called back from holidays to reinforce emergency services ahead of an extended holiday weekend.

Undertakers are preparing to work tomorrow despite the fact that it is a public holiday, to cope with the increased number of deaths.

[shadowman99]

OK, besides the fact that they are surrender monkeys and haven't been on our good side in as long as I can remeber - the US really needs to offer some help here.

How hard can it be to fly a few hundred air conditioners over that they can set up in public buildings?

They piss me off, but we have to be better than them.

[ken5050]

YOu see, they normally don't bathe..they went into the tubs to cool off, and they drowned..

[shadowman99]

I'll also remind people that when 3000 people died here it wasn't a joke.

[2Jedismom]

All I can think about is our guys over in Iraq...hey wneighbor, didn't your SIL say he was enduring 125F temps?

[Bikers4Bush]

They have bathtubs (not that they've ever used them)that they can fill with cold water and ice.

A few hundred air conditioners probably won't cure their serious case of stupidity.

[hoosierboy]

When they had the heat wave in chicago a few years ago. People were dropping like flies and the coroner couldn't keep up with it so he just labeled them death by the heat.

I can just see it now some guy gettng run over by a steamroller and since the coroner doesnt have time to do an autopsy report, he will just put down "died from heat exhaustion."

[SolutionsOnly]

Wow. Only 98 degrees and 3,000 people die. That's not very indicative of a robust gene pool. No wonder the French didn't want to get involved in Iraq - they'd wither in the sun.

[Bikers4Bush]

No it wasn't, but the numerous french muslims weren't at all unhappy about it.

[Monti Cello]

Boy, that was some nice trickeration by Dubya to use global warming to give the French a taste of 9/11.

He clearly turned off the heat after 3000 deaths just to make sure they got the message.

CO2 emissions are apparently a very precise and effective military tool.

[Hunble]

Since Methane is a "green house gas", I fart in the French direction!

But seriously, living in Germany for 4 years, we often had summer temperatures in the 90s.

I find this report difficult to believe.

[July 4th]

How hard can it be to fly a few hundred air conditioners over that they can set up in public buildings?

I honestly believe that if the French were to do that, no one would go. And if people really wanted to be cooled, there would be huge lines at the temperature-controlled museums, which I haven't heard anything about in the news.

[Charles Martel]

How hard can it be to fly a few hundred air conditioners over that they can set up in public buildings?

They run 50-cycle 220-230 volt AC current, our air conditioning units run on 60-cycle 110 or 220. Those little travel kits with voltage converters are helpful, but don't address the often inadequate wiring. My wife once blew a fuse in an old French hotel by switching on a 600-watt hair dryer.

We'd have to send portable generators, too.

[SolutionsOnly]

***"I'll also remind people that when 3000 people died here it wasn't a joke."***

No, people dying is not a joke. There's a huge difference between being murdered and surviving 98 degree temps. It does not require a PhD to figure out that it's hot outside. Just a miniuscule amount of imagination is required to solve the problem - it's apparently lacking in that society. There's no excuse that that many should die from a mere 98 degrees.

[Lunatic Fringe]

They are one of the biggest economies in the world... let them buy their own A/C units!

[concerned about politics]

I do feel sorry for those who have parished, but some leadership and Christian behavior over there might help a little. It sounds like they're just waiting for them to die, and piling them up. It's good for victimhood PR.

I hope if America ever has a problem like this, neighbor will at least help neighbor. People know if there's an elderly person near by that would need help and some type of cooling down.

[Mo1]

3,000??? ... I heard they had deaths due to the heat, but that number seems kind of high from what I heard on TV.

[kerouacbal]

Unbeilivable the French don't even know how to fight a heat wave

[concerned about politics]

Unbeilivable the French don't even know how to fight a heat wave

LOL.

98 degrees? We get that every summer around here. It's hot, but geeeze. We're not dieing off by the thousands because of it.
The French really are a weak people. Sheesh.