Heatwave Caused 1300 Deaths In Portugal

The Sydney Morning Herald reports:

(Reuters) -- Portuguese health authorities said 1316 people had died from a heatwave that gripped the nation, news agency Lusa reported.

The figures were from a preliminary Health Ministry report on deaths between late July and August 12, Lusa said late yesterday. The estimate is based on a comparison with the same period last year.

The heatwave was the hottest and longest recorded in Portugal. It fanned the country's worst forest fires in more than 20 years, which killed at least 15 people.

The heatwave affected much of Europe, causing forest fires and a number of deaths across the Continent.

The number of deaths in Portugal were less than during a 1981 heatwave and about the same as one in 1991 because of emergency measures put in place because of the fires, Lusa said.

Copyright © 2003. The Sydney Morning Herald.

(via Rense.com)