THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
August 18, 2020 at 15:58 JST
Ambulances were busy rushing heatstroke patients to hospitals on Aug. 17 amid a nationwide heat wave, which saw the mercury hit a record-tying all-time high of 41.1 degrees in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture.
In Kuki, Saitama Prefecture, an 85-year-old woman died from heatstroke after she was found lifeless in a washroom by her son who lives with her.
In Yorii, also in Saitama Prefecture, a family member found a 94-year-old man collapsed in his bedroom. Although a fan in the room was turned on, the window was closed when he was discovered. He was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
In Aichi Prefecture, 137 people were taken to hospitals on Aug. 16 after they developed symptoms of heatstroke, according to prefectural officials.
Of these, a man in his 90s in Nishio and a man aged 59 who was found inside his car in Shinshiro died from heatstroke.
On the same day, the Gunma prefectural government said a 69-year-old woman died from heatstroke in Ota after she was taken to a hospital on Aug. 16.
According to the Tokyo Fire Department, 286 people, aged 9 through 98, were rushed to hospitals after displaying symptoms of heatstroke in Tokyo as of 9 p.m. on Aug. 17. The number excludes such patients in Inagi and islands in the jurisdiction of the metropolitan government.
Of those taken to hospitals, three in their 70s were in critical condition and 13 people in their 30s through 90s were in serious condition. The rest were either moderate or mild cases.
This month, 53 people died from heatstroke in Tokyo’s 23 wards as of the morning of Aug. 17, according to the metropolitan government.
Ninety percent of the dead were in their 60s or older.
Fifty of these were discovered indoors. Of the 50, 43 were in a room without an air conditioner or the air conditioner turned off when they were discovered.
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A man tries to get some shade from the baking sun in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, on Aug. 17. The temperature rose to 41.1 degrees that day, tying the country’s all-time record high. (Toshiyuki Hayashi)
