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Hundreds of deaths linked to historic heatwave in Pacific Northwest.

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The grim toll of the historic heatwave in the Pacific Northwest became more apparent as authorities in Canada and in Oregon and Washington states said they were investigating hundreds of deaths likely caused by scorching temperatures that shattered all-time records in the normally temperate region.

British Columbia’s chief coroner, Lisa Lapointe, said her office received reports of at least 486 “sudden and unexpected deaths” between Friday and Wednesday.

Usually, she said about 165 people would die in the Canadian province over a five-day period.

“While it is too early to say with certainty how many of these deaths are heat related, it is believed likely that the significant increase in deaths reported is attributable to the extreme weather,” LaPointe said in a statement.

Many homes in Vancouver, much like Seattle, don’t have air conditioning, leaving people ill-prepared for soaring temperatures.

“Vancouver has never experienced heat like this, and sadly dozens of people are dying because of it,” Vancouver police Sgt. Steve Addison said in a statement.

Oregon health officials said more than 60 deaths have been tied to the heat, with the state’s largest county, Multnomah, blaming the weather for 45 deaths since temperatures spiked on Friday.

More than a dozen deaths in Washington state have been linked to the heat, a number that was expected to rise.

 

The heatwave was caused by what meteorologists described as a dome of high pressure over the Northwest and worsened by human-caused climate change, which is making such extreme weather events more likely and more intense.

Seattle, Portland and many other cities broke all-time heat records, with temperatures in some places reaching above 46 Celsius (115 degrees Fahrenheit).

While the temperatures had cooled considerably in western Washington, Oregon and British Columbia by Wednesday, interior regions were still sweating through triple-digit temperatures as the weather system moved east into the intermountain West and the Plains.

Amid the dangerous heat and drought gripping the American West, crews were closely monitoring wildfires that can explode in the extreme weather.

Heat warnings were in place for parts of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana as well as Saskatchewan and southern Alberta, where “a prolonged, dangerous, and historic heat wave will persist through this week,” Environment Canada said.

“The temperatures recorded this week are unprecedented — lives have been lost and the risk of wildfires is at a dangerously high level,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.

In Oregon, the Multnomah County medical examiner blamed 45 heat deaths on hyperthermia, an abnormally high body temperature caused by a failure of the body to deal with heat.

The victims ranged in age from 44 to 97.

The county that includes Portland said that between 2017 and 2019, there were only 12 hyperthermia deaths in all of Oregon.

 

“This was a true health crisis that has underscored how deadly an extreme heatwave can be, especially to otherwise vulnerable people,’’ Dr. Jennifer Vines, the county’s health officer, said in a statement.

The King County medical examiner’s office, which covers an area including Seattle, said at least two people died of hyperthermia.

In neighboring Snohomish County, three men — ages 51, 75 and 77 — died after experiencing heat stroke in their homes, the medical examiner’s office told the Daily Herald in Everett, Washington, on Tuesday.

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Usable reserve will exceed USD 100 million by the end of this month: MMA

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Immigration Controller Mohamed Shamman, on Thursday, revealed over 900 undocumented immigrants have been deported as part of efforts to decrease the number of foreigners living in the Maldives unlawfully.

Speaking at a joint press conference held by Local Governance Ministry, Home Ministry, Maldives Immigration and Department of National Registration on Thursday – Shamman said two to three major operations are conducted every week to identify undocumented immigrants.

“We are removing them based on the capacity available at the detention centre. After their removal – the deportation of such individuals from the Maldives is proceeding at a fast pace,” he said.

Speaking further, Shamman underscored that there is a large number of foreigners involved in black market sale of US dollars in the Maldives – which he detailed is carried out near ATMs and through Viber groups.

Seven foreigners unlawfully selling US dollars in the black market were detained on March 15th in an operation carried out by Immigration’s Risk Intelligence and Legal Affairs and Enforcement and Compliance Division.

Shamman noted that some of these detainees have been deported already. Underscoring that some of the detainees lacked the necessary documentation – he said the documents have been requested from the embassy.

“As soon as the documents are received, they will be deported,” he added.

Source(s): sun.mv

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Over 900 undocumented immigrants deported: Immigration Controller

FI

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Immigration Controller Mohamed Shamman, on Thursday, revealed over 900 undocumented immigrants have been deported as part of efforts to decrease the number of foreigners living in the Maldives unlawfully.

Speaking at a joint press conference held by Local Governance Ministry, Home Ministry, Maldives Immigration and Department of National Registration on Thursday – Shamman said two to three major operations are conducted every week to identify undocumented immigrants.

“We are removing them based on the capacity available at the detention centre. After their removal – the deportation of such individuals from the Maldives is proceeding at a fast pace,” he said.

Speaking further, Shamman underscored that there is a large number of foreigners involved in black market sale of US dollars in the Maldives – which he detailed is carried out near ATMs and through Viber groups.

Seven foreigners unlawfully selling US dollars in the black market were detained on March 15th in an operation carried out by Immigration’s Risk Intelligence and Legal Affairs and Enforcement and Compliance Division.

Shamman noted that some of these detainees have been deported already. Underscoring that some of the detainees lacked the necessary documentation – he said the documents have been requested from the embassy.

“As soon as the documents are received, they will be deported,” he added.

Source(s): sun.mv

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Nasheed calls on British King Charles

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Former president Mohamed Nasheed who is currently serving as the secretary general of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) has called on UK’s King Charles iii.

Nasheed met with the King Charles at the Buckingham Palace on Wednesday.

Neither Nasheed nor the Buckingham Palace has disclosed any further details regarding the meeting in an official capacity.

The meeting had been reported by media outlets.

Photos of the meeting circulating on social media show a cheerful King Charles, who is currently undergoing treatment for cancer, shaking his hand with Nasheed.

The Buckingham Palace announced King Charles had been diagnosed with cancer and has subsequently commenced treatment in early February.

The Palace, in their statement, said the King, although would refrain from public appearances during the course of his treatment, will nevertheless be carrying out his official duties.

“He remains wholly positive about his treatment and looks forward to returning to full public duty as soon as possible,” also read the statement.

King Charles acceded to the throne on September 8, 2022, upon the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. His coronation was held almost eight months later, on May 6th of last year.

Nasheed announced a hiatus from political work on December 12th of last year to assume his new post as the secretary general of CVF.

He relocated to Ghana on January 30th to carry out his responsibilities as the secretary general. Nevertheless, Nasheed remains a member of the parliament.

Source(s): sun.mv

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