With hot summer days and high heat indices bearing down on Mid Missouri, we would like to offer these safety tips on heat related problems.

When it comes to weather-related events, statistics say extremely hot weather is the leading cause of death. In 2009, 45 people died as a result of extreme heat, down from 71 fatalities in 2008. In 2009, the most dangerous place to be was in a permanent home with little or no air conditioning, where a reported 19 deaths (42%) occurred. According to the latest NOAA Weather Service figures the ten year average for 2000 – 2009:

162 died from heat
117 died from hurricanes
65 died from floods
63 died from tornadoes
42 died from lightning

People suffer heat-related injuries when the body's temperature control system is overloaded. The body normally cools itself by sweating. But under some conditions, sweating just isn't enough. In such cases, a person's body temperature rises rapidly. Very high body temperatures may damage the brain or other vital organs. Within 10 minutes the body’s temperature may rise as high as 106 degrees. Several factors affect the body's ability to cool itself during extremely hot weather. When the humidity is high, sweat will not evaporate as ...