Heat wave claims at least 20 lives in New York

The death toll from the searing heat that scorched the city earlier in the week exceeded 20, the city medical examiner's office said on Saturday.

The office confirmed 10 heat-related deaths on Saturday after autopsies on the dead. It already reported 10 heat-related deaths on Friday.

The new autopsy results were those of two Brooklyn residents and eight Queens residents.

The new victims include six women and four men who ranged in age from 52 to 99, said Ellen Borakove, spokeswoman for the medical examiner's office.

The death toll could rise further as the medical examiner's office continues to conduct autopsies.

The city's Office of Emergency Management said it would review its emergency planning once all of the investigations into the deaths are completed.

Before the three-day heat wave broke Thursday night, the temperatures at times hit triple digits (high-30s Celsius), causing power outages throughout the city.

On Friday, Borakove confirmed 10 deaths, four in Manhattan and six in Brooklyn, as being heat-related. All those victims had died Thursday.

But none of the deaths confirmed so far occurred in parts of the city that suffered power outages due to the persistent heat wave, Borakove said.

The Consolidated Edison utility said Saturday evening that it had resolved the majority of the power outages in the city.

Source: Xinhua