At least 13 dead, in the death “whose hypothermia played a role”, counts , on the 11th day of one that hits the American metropolis, the mayor announced, during a press conference he gave today.
“This morning, 16 of our fellow New Yorkers died while outdoors during this bitterly cold spell. In 13 of those cases, early findings suggest that hypothermia played a role,” Mamdani said, adding that the other three cases “appear to be due to overdose.”
None of these people lived on the street at the time of his death, added the mayor. Some had contacted emergency accommodation services in the past.
The northeastern US metropolis “could be currently experiencing the longest continuous period of sub-zero temperatures in our city’s history,” Mamdani added.
Cold days in New York
— Yura Forrat (@YuraForrat)
To deal with this situation, the municipal authority mobilized a fleet of 20 vehicles with health personnel, as well as emergency warming centers.
Between 2005 and 2021, New York City recorded between nine and 27 cold-related deaths per year, according to official statistics. This number increased to 34 in 2021 and to 54 in 2022.
For his part, the city’s financial controller, Mark Levine, estimated “in the tens of thousands” the number of New Yorkers without a permanent residence, “especially families with children.” According to the same source, “almost 95% reside in municipal shelters.”
As of August 2021, these shelters housed 44,586 people, “the lowest daily population for nearly 10 years,” he said.
This number increased from 22,955 to 62,679 people between January 2000 and January 2020.
