this cant be true

[Krusher]

The summer of 2003 will be remembered as the year of the holocaust of the French elderly. France was reeling yesterday from figures that suggested some 10,000 people - mostly over the age of 75 - were killed by this month's heatwave, double the previous estimate.

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This has got to be a major exaggeration, but if it isnt, jeez people by your grandparents an air conditioner !

[Boroda]

We had something like that in Russia two years ago...

My Grand Uncle died that summer, at the age of 92...

He was from a Cossack family, served in Red Army since 1920s, was a colonel in 1942 when he was captured by nazis during the Kharkov catastrophe, ran away from concentration camp two times... Smoked and was drinking (a little) last time when I saw him. Was the most vigorous and active old man that I knew. But he couldn't stand the heat when it was +50C in the shadow in Krasnodar...

[Mickey1992]

I read that 10,000 estimate on Wednesday.  They say it might actually go higher.  Truly sad.

"The government has said most of the victims were elderly people left alone at home. Doctors say heat stroke and dehydration were often the cause of death.

Raffarin also said he had instructed Health Minister Jean-Francois Mattei to assemble a panel of experts to estimate the exact number of heat-related deaths and issue a report within a month.

In a statement, OGF predicted that the death toll for the full month of August could be 13,632 more than a year ago."

[Dune]

I would imagine that dehydration got many of them.  People who aren't faced with that type of heat have no clue the amount of water it takes to keep the body going.  My wife is originally from Michigan, but has lived in AZ for 8 years.  When we met I was amazed at how little water she drank during the summer.  Two summers later and she will tell you that she can feel the difference when she's had enough water than when she hasn't.

[Yeager]

I would take that figure with a huge grain of salt.

Nothing is as it seems, there is always another way.

[takeda]

The Spanish government insists on a 60-70 figure. Those are victims of straight heat stroke. Funeral bussinesses have reported that the overall number of deaths almost -doubled- for those 2/3 weeks. That would place us in the thousands too.

[capt. apathy]

the temps that I've seen don't seem all that extream to me.  I suppose it's mostly because they aren't used to these temps.

an important thing to know if you have elderly people in these conditions and no A/C,  fill the bathtub with cool water and spend your afternoons in it.  just sit back, cool off, read a good book, and drink all the water you can get down.

I had heatstroke about 10 years ago.  it almost killed me, I lost 30 pounds in one day.  had the mother of all hangovers for about 3 or 4 days.

oh, and that reminds me of another thing.  don't drink,  the cold beer may feel great going down but it takes water out of your system.

[Steve]

I'm waiting for the French to blame America for all the deaths.  It's our fault because we are depleting the ozone layer.

[gofaster]

I can't hear you over the sound of my car's air conditioner.

[Fuzzy]

Your'e not driving a Peugeot are you???