1990 — June-Aug (esp.), Heat; esp. CA/44 deaths, AZ/30, TX/29, LA/21, AR/17, MS/14–300
–300 CDC WONDER. ICD-9 E900 excessive heat and hyperthermia code.[1]
–239 Blanchard tally of State breakouts below.
Summary of Heat Fatalities by State (where identified)
Arizona 30
Arkansas 17
California 44
Colorado 1
Florida 10
Georgia 13
Illinois 13
Louisiana 21
Mississippi 14
Missouri 13
North Carolina 7
Oklahoma 11
Oregon 1
South Carolina 11
Tennessee 1
Texas 29
Utah 2
Washington 1
Breakout of Heat Fatalities by State
Arizona (30)
–30 State. CDC WONDER. ICD-9 E900 excessive heat and hyperthermia code.
— 4 State, June 22-28. National Climatic Data Center. Storm Data, 32/6, June 1990, p. 34.
–15 Maricopa County. CDC WONDER. ICD-9 E900 excessive heat and hyperthermia code.
— 3 Phoenix, June 26. LA Times. “Blistering Heat Shatters Records 2nd Straight Day.” 6-29-90.[2]
— 1 Phoenix, June 27. Male, 58, working outside his home; died after body temp reached 108°.[3]
— 1 Tucson, June 7. Extreme body heat; female, 37, fell asleep outside after drinking alcohol.[4]
Arkansas (17)
–17 State. CDC WONDER. ICD-9 E900 excessive heat and hyperthermia code
— 2 Hot Springs, July 8. Heat-related causes; elderly couple in their home. Storm Data 32/7, 23.
— 1 Little Rock, July 5. Heatstroke; female, in her apartment. NCDC Storm Data 32/7, p. 23.
— 1 North Little Rock, July 10. Heatstroke; male found dead in his apt. Storm Data 32/7, p. 23.[5]
— 1 Pine Bluff, Jefferson County, June 19. Heat-related causes; female. Storm Data 32/6, p. 36.
— 1 Pine Bluff, July 3. Apparent heatstroke; male, found dead at home. Storm Data 32/7, p. 23.
California (44)
–44 State. CDC WONDER. ICD-9 E900 excessive heat and hyperthermia code
–11 Los Angeles County. CDC WONDER. ICD-9 E900 excessive heat and hyperthermia code.
— 1 Pacoima, June 26. Heat exhaustion; boy, 4, accidentally locked in parked car.[6]
Colorado ( 1)
— 1 Cheyenne Wells, July 9. Heat exhaustion; well digging company worker, one week on job.[7]
Florida ( 10)
— 10 Lushine, James B. Figure 3, “Annual Temperature Deaths, Florida, 1979-1999.”[8]
Georgia (13) CDC WONDER. ICD-9 E900 excessive heat and hyperthermia code
Illinois (13) CDC WONDER. ICD-9 E900 excessive heat and hyperthermia code
Louisiana ( 21)
— 21 Statewide. NYT. “41 Heat-Related Deaths in Louisiana Nearly Double…” 8-18-1998.[9]
— 20 State. CDC WONDER. ICD-9 E900 excessive heat and hyperthermia code
— 1 Eunice, June 21. Heatstroke, female, 46. NCDC Storm Data, 32/6, June 1990, p. 124.
— 1 Shreveport, June 19. Heatstroke; male, 52. NCDC Storm Data, 32/6, June 1990, p. 124.
— 1 Shreveport, June 20. Heatstroke; male, 75. NCDC Storm Data, 32/6, June 1990, p. 124.
Mississippi (14) CDC WONDER. ICD-9 E900 excessive heat and hyperthermia code
Missouri (13)
— 13 State. CDC WONDER. ICD-9 E900 excessive heat and hyperthermia code
–~12 MO DHSS. Data & Statistical Reports. “Hyperthermia Mortality, Missouri 1980-2013.”[10]
North Carolina ( 7)
— 7 Mirabella and Richardson. “Heat-Related Fatalities in North Carolina.” (Figure 1)
Oklahoma ( 11)
–11 Garwe (OK Dept Health). “Heat-Related Deaths, Oklahoma, 1990-2001,” 5-31-2002, p.1.[11]
–10 State. CDC WONDER. ICD-9 E900 excessive heat and hyperthermia code
— 1 Enid, July 8.
— 1 Muskogee, July 8. Excessive heat. NCDC, Storm Data, Vol. 32, No. 7, July 1990, p. 115.
— 1 Purcell, Aug 27. Heart failure attributed to excessive heat, home with no AC; female, 80.[12]
Oregon ( 1)
— 1 Pistol River, July 10. Heat exhaustion; male logger, 2nd day on the job and out-of-shape.[13]
South Carolina (11)
–11 State. CDC WONDER. ICD-9 E900 excessive heat and hyperthermia code
— 1 Columbia, July 10. Heat prostration; female outdoors. NCDC, Storm Data, 32/7, 1990, 131.
— 1 Darlington Co., June 15. Heat exhaustion; male, 58. NCDC, Storm Data, 32/6, 1990, p.213.
— 1 Dorchester County, June 21. Heat stress; male, 67. NCDC, Storm Data, 32/6, 1990, p. 213.
— 1 Dorchester County, July 9. Heatstroke; male, 81. NCDC, Storm Data, 32/7, 1990, p. 131.
— 1 Florence, July 12. Heatstroke complications, male, 70, outdoors. Storm Data 32/7, p. 132.
— 1 Kershaw County, June 7. Heat exhaustion; male, 58. NCDC, Storm Data, 32/6, 1990, p213.
— 1 Spartanburg, July 12. Extreme heat possibly contributed to death; male, 67.[14]
Tennessee ( 1)
— 1 Nashville, June 10. Heat exhaustion; male, second-story apartment. Storm Data, 32/6, 223.
Texas (29)
–29 State. CDC WONDER. ICD-9 E900 excessive heat and hyperthermia code
— 1 Caldwell, Aug 20. Heat exhaustion; mail oil rig company worker. OSHA.[15]
— 1 Caprock Canyons State Park no. of Quitaque, June 17. Female hiker, 36, after getting lost.[16]
— 1 Dallas, June 26. Hyperthermia. NCDC Storm Data, Vol. 32, No. 6, June 1990, p. 232.
— 1 Fort Worth, July 3. Heat exhaustion; male working outdoors for garbage collection co.[17]
— 2 Northern TX, June 16-20. Excessive heat (several days heat index 105 to 115°).[18]
— 1 Weatherford, July 2. Heatstroke in a residence. NCDC Storm Data, 32/7, July 1990, p. 136.
Utah ( 2)
— 1 Escalante, Challenger Foundation Pgm., June 27. Heatstroke; female, 16.[19]
— 1 St. George, Summit Quest, May 9. Heat exhaustion/dehydration/alt. sickness; female, 15.[20]
Washington ( 1)
— 1 Aberdeen, July 11. Heatstroke; male logging company worker, first day on job. OSHA.[21]
Narrative Information
NCDC on Western United States Heat in June: “June 1990 was a hot month over most of the United States; record and near record heat peaked over much of the western half of the United States generally between the 26th and the 28th. Some cities which set all-time record high temperatures (for any date) include: Phoenix, Arizona (122° on the 26th); Tucson, Arizona (117° on the 26th); Los Angeles (Civic Center), CA (112° on the 26th); Lubbock, Texas (110° on the 24th), and Pueblo, Colorado (108° on the 29th).
[Also noted in a follow-on table are illustrative high temperatures for other western states:
Swan Falls, ID, June 30 (106°);
Russell Springs, KS, June 28 (111°);
Terry, MT, June 26 (107°);
Beaver City, NE, June 28 (109°);
Laughlin, NV, June 26 (122°);
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, near Carlsbad, NM, June 24 (115°);
Chattanooga, OK, June 26 (108°);
Medford, OR, June 21 (104°);
Oelrichs, SD, June 27 (106°);
Zion National Park, June 27 (112°);
Worland FAA Airport, June 30 (107°).] (NCDC Storm Data, 32/6, June 1990, p. 29.)
Sources
Associated Press. “Texas heat wave continues.” Galveston Daily News, TX, 6-20-1990, p. 4-A. Accessed 5-1-2016 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/us/texas/galveston/galveston-daily-news/1990/06-20/page-4?tag
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Compressed Mortality File 1979-1998. ICD-9 E900 code for excessive heat and hyperthermia for 1990. CDC WONDER On-line Database, compiled from Compressed Mortality File CMF 1968-1988, Series 20, No. 2A, 2000 and CMF 1989-1998, Series 20, No. 2E, 2003. Accessed at http://wonder.cdc.gov/cmf-icd9.html on Jun 26, 2017 1:56:04 PM
Garwe, Tabitha, M.P.H., Epidemiologist, Injury Prevention Service, OK DPH. ). “Heat-Related Deaths, Oklahoma, 1990-2001.” Oklahoma City, OK: Oklahoma State Department of Health, 5-31-2002. Accessed 11-8-2015 at: http://www.ok.gov/health2/documents/Heat_Deaths_1990-2001.pdf
Indiana Gazette, Indiana, PA. “Heat wave scorches Southwest” (cont. from p. 1), 6-27-1990, p. 6. Accessed 5-1-2016 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/us/pennsylvania/indiana/indiana-gazette/1990/06-27/page-6?tag
Los Angeles Times (Eric Malnic and Penelope McMillan). “Blistering Heat Shatters Records 2nd Straight Day.” 6-28-1990. Accessed 5-1-2016 at: http://articles.latimes.com/1990-06-28/news/mn-990_1_heat-shatters-records
Lushine, James B. “Underreporting of Heat and Cold Related Deaths in Florida.” Miami, FL: National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office, NOAA. 1-6-2009 modification. Accessed 11-1-2015 at: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/mfl/?n=fla_weather_casualties
Mirabelli, Maria C. and David B. Richardson. “Heat-Related Fatalities in North Carolina.” American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 95, No. 4, April 2005, pp. 635-637. Accessed 9-2-2015 at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1449233/
Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services. Data & Statistical Reports. Chart: “Hyperthermia Mortality, Missouri 1980-2013.” DHSS. Accessed 11-19-2015 at: http://health.mo.gov/living/healthcondiseases/hyperthermia/data.php
National Climatic Data Center. Storm Data, Vol. 32, No. 6, June 1990. Asheville, NC: NCDC, NOAA, U.S. Dept. of Commerce. Accessed 5-1-2016 at: http://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/orders/IPS/IPS-2C0F4B49-8D31-47FC-AA49-77E6078C9060.pdf
National Climatic Data Center. Storm Data, Vol. 32, No. 7, July 1990. Asheville, NC: NCDC, NOAA, U.S. Dept. of Commerce. Accessed 5-1-2016 at: http://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/orders/IPS/IPS-C048E59E-05B5-4087-89EC-AC6F549918B4.pdf
National Climatic Data Center. Storm Data, Vol. 32, No. 8, Aug 1990. Asheville, NC: NCDC, NOAA, U.S. Dept. of Commerce. Accessed 5-1-2016 at: http://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/orders/IPS/IPS-6852CAB1-D433-4CCE-B498-9E6F5AB910E2.pdf
New York Times. “41 Heat-Related Deaths in Louisiana Nearly Double Old Record.” 8-18-1998. Accessed 1-3-2016 at: http://www.nytimes.com/1998/08/18/us/41-heat-related-deaths-in-louisiana-nearly-double-old-record.html
Occupational Safety & Health Administration. Fatality and Catastrophe Investigation Summaries. “Inspection: 100021963 – J W. Gibson Well Service.” OSHA, US Dept. of Labor. Accessed 5-1-2016 at: https://www.osha.gov/pls/imis/establishment.inspection_detail?id=100021963
Occupational Safety & Health Administration. Fatality and Catastrophe Investigation Summaries. “Inspection: 106605181 – Waste Management of Fort Worth.” OSHA, US Dept. of Labor. Accessed 5-1-2016 at: https://www.osha.gov/pls/imis/establishment.inspection_detail?id=106605181
Occupational Safety & Health Administration. Fatality and Catastrophe Investigation Summaries. “Inspection: 108264615 – Conifer Douglas Co.” OSHA, US Dept. of Labor. Accessed 5-1-2016 at: https://www.osha.gov/pls/imis/establishment.inspection_detail?id=108264615
Occupational Safety & Health Administration. Fatality and Catastrophe Investigation Summaries. “Inspection: 111579959 – Skookum Logging.” OSHA, US Dept. of Labor. Accessed 5-1-2016 at: https://www.osha.gov/pls/imis/establishment.inspection_detail?id=111579959
Occupational Safety & Health Administration. Fatality and Catastrophe Investigation Summaries. “Inspection: 115556292–H & K Oil Fields Services, Inc.” OSHA, US Dept. of Labor. Accessed 5-1-2016: https://www.osha.gov/pls/imis/establishment.inspection_detail?id=115556292
Salt Lake Tribune, UT. “Utah wilderness therapy deaths.” 7-13-2003 and 10-11-2007. Accessed 5-1-2016 at: http://archive.sltrib.com/story.php?ref=/news/ci_7139316
United Press International. “Alcohol Linked to Arizona Sunbather’s Death. Los Angeles Times, 6-9-1990. Accessed 5-1-2016 at: https://www.google.com/#q=1990+california+heat+hyperthermia+deaths+
[1] The CDC data for States below totals 214. The difference between this number and 300 for the U.S. is that the CDC “suppresses” (does not show) figures for States where loss-of-life was fewer than ten.
[2] Another sources writes “Fire Department spokesman…said the heat was suspected in the deaths of three men – one whose body was found in his home Tuesday after he called a doctor Monday night to complain of symptoms of heat exhaustion, another found behind a downtown building, and a third found on a street.” (Indiana Gazette, Indiana, PA. “Heat wave scorches Southwest” (continued from p. 1), 6-27-1990, p. 6.)
[3] Los Angeles Times (E. Malnic and P. McMillan). “Blistering Heat Shatters Records 2nd Straight Day.” 6-28-1990.
[4] United Press International. “Alcohol Linked to Arizona Sunbather’s Death. Los Angeles Times, 6-9-1990.
[5] Shows 2 deaths in column for deaths, but describes only one.
[6] Los Angeles Times (E. Malnic and P. McMillan). “Blistering Heat Shatters Records 2nd Straight Day.” 6-28-1990.
[7] OSHA. Fatality and Catastrophe Investigation Summaries. “Inspection: 100021963 – J W. Gibson Well Service.”
[8] Figure 3 is a chart showing heat deaths in one color and cold deaths in another on the same horizontal bar for each year. Fatality range on left of chart is in increments of five, going up to thirty. The bars for each year are shown diagonally and do not show numbers. This does not make them readily readable. Thus one has to measure the bar showing the lowest combined deaths (1979), which appears to show one cold death and one heat death. With the unit of measurement of one death then measured against the heat portion of all the other bars, one can get an approximation of the heat deaths for each year. I say “approximate” in that by this method we counted 133 heat deaths over the 21-year period included in the graph, whereas the text of the article notes that there were 125. The article notes that the data came from death certificates collected by the Public Health Statistics Section, Office of Vital Statistics, Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services.
[9] “New Orleans…the previous record [heat-related deaths]…21 in 1990.”
[10] We say “about” 12 deaths in that chart plots fatalities by increments of 10 on the left axis and years along the bottom, with a line connecting dots. Takes interpretation, even with enlargement.
[11] From Figure 1. “Heat-Related Deaths by Year, Oklahoma, 1990-2001.” Deaths in Figure 1 are denoted by a horizontal bar, against backdrop of horizontal lines in increments of five. The precise number of deaths is not given, thus one has to make an educated guess in looking at the Figure and contrasting one bar against others. The year 1990 seems quite clearly to show eleven deaths and the bar for 2001.
[12] NCDC, NOAA. Storm Data, Vol. 32, No. 8, Aug 1990, p. 119. Notes outdoor temp. reached near 100°.
[13] OSHA. Fatality and Catastrophe Investigation Summaries. “Inspection: 108264615 – Conifer Douglas Co.”
[14] NCDC, NOAA. Storm Data, Vol. 32, No. 7, July 1990, p. 132.
[15] OSHA. Fatality and Catastrophe Investigation Summaries. “Inspection: 115556292–H & K Oil Fields Services.”
[16] NCDC, NOAA. Storm Data, Vol. 32, No. 6, June 1990, pp. 239-240. Age of victim, identified as Johnnie Ward, is from: Associated Press. “Texas heat wave continues.” Galveston Daily News, TX, 6-20-1990, p. 4-A.
[17] NCDC, NOAA. Storm Data, 32/7, July 1990, p. 137. Also OSHA Inspection 106605181, noting 1st day on job.
[18] NCDC, NOAA. Storm Data, Vol. 32, No. 6, June 1990, p. 230.
[19] Salt Lake Tribune, UT. “Utah wilderness therapy deaths.” 7-13-2003 and 10-11-2007. Identified victim as Kristen Chase of Florida, who died of heatstroke three days after arrival while on a kike in Kane County.
[20] Salt Lake Tribune, UT. “Utah wilderness therapy deaths.” 7-13-2003 and 10-11-2007. Identified victim as Michelle Sutton of CA, who died while hiking south of St. George on the Arizona Strip on sixth day in the program.
[21] OSHA. Fatality and Catastrophe Investigation Summaries. “Inspection: 111579959 – Skookum Logging.”