Poverty, pavement, isolation: A closer look at B.C. heat deaths
CTV
CTV News has learned more about the neighbourhoods and communities where a combination of poverty, scant tree coverage and isolation contributed to the deaths of hundreds of British Columbians during record-breaking heat in 2021.
CTV News has learned more about the neighbourhoods and communities where a combination of poverty, scant tree coverage and isolation contributed to the deaths of hundreds of British Columbians during record-breaking heat in 2021.
A freedom of information request with the BC Coroners Service for the postal codes where the 619 victims of last year’s heat dome lived resulted in a more precise picture of where they died, though not as detailed as some observers would’ve liked.
Simon Fraser University's Andy Yan crunched the data exclusively obtained by CTV News and while he wasn’t able to do an effective analysis of income levels or ethnic backgrounds. The demography and urban planning researcher said he was stunned to see which areas saw the highest death rates.
“They were particularly concentrated in very specific areas,” he said, which was information not previously available through the coroner's report.
The postal code data revealed that 18 people died in the most populous area of Chilliwack, with another 18 in the rest of the community. In Abbotsford, all 22 deaths were concentrated in areas with subdivisions and townhomes, while all of the 11 deaths in Maple Ridge were between 203rd and 232nd streets. Similarly, Langley, Surrey, White Rock and Burnaby had few deaths outside the more urban sections.
New Westminster was highlighted as having an exceptionally high death toll of 55 people, and when mapped it’s visibly one of the hardest-hit areas. Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, however, only saw 12 deaths.
