Pennsylvania: Tips to Stay Cool During a Heat Wave
It’s hot out, and it sure doesn’t feel like fall. We can talk about the weather as much as we want and complain about the heat. But, sometimes all the chatter can make one forget that heat can be dangerous. You really need to stay safe in this weather. Here are some Pennsylvania tips to stay cool during a heat wave, and these tips obviously work for any area, not just the Keystone State.
Pennsylvania: Tips to Stay Cool During a Heat Wave
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “High temperatures kill hundreds of people every year. Heat-related deaths and illness are preventable, yet more than 700 people die from extreme heat every year in the United States.” So, yes, it’s very dangerous. They say that one major thing to do is drink enough water. This is especially true when there is high humidity, since “When the humidity is high, sweat won’t evaporate as quickly. This keeps your body from releasing heat as fast as it may need to.”
Here are some other tips from the CDC:
- Stay in air-conditioned buildings as much as you can. Air-conditioning is the number one way to protect yourself against heat-related illness and death. If your home is not air-conditioned, reduce your risk for heat-related illness by spending time in public facilities that are air-conditioned and using air conditioning in vehicles. Contact your local health department or locate an air-conditioned shelter in your area.
- Do not rely on a fan as your main cooling device during an extreme heat event.
- Drink more water than usual, and don’t wait until you’re thirsty to drink.
- Check on friends and neighbors and have someone check on you.
- Limit use of the stove and oven—it will make you and your house hotter.
Overall, the CDC says to stay in an air-conditioned indoor spot, drink a lot of fluids, don’t do outdoor activities (especially strenuous), take cool showers or baths, don’t leave children or pets in vehicles and stay tuned to local news on the weather. Find the full list of ways to stay cool via the CDC here.
Pennsylvania: What's Our Earthquake Risk? Use This Interactive Map
More on Loss Ratios across the US
While you might think of a handful of cities who are in danger of earthquakes, and those are on the West Coast, there is earthquake activity all around. “Although most economic loss is concentrated along the West Coast, the distribution of relative earthquake risk, as measured by the AELR, is much broader and reinforces the fact that earthquakes are a national problem,” FEMA says. “Relatively high earthquake loss ratios are throughout the western and central United States (states within the NMSZ) and in the Charleston, South Carolina, area.”
California – Interstate roadsign illustration with the map of California
The Big 55
You’ve heard of the Big Four, right? In metal music. Anyway, the Big 55 are the cities that experience the most earthquake activity. “Fifty-five metropolitan areas, led by the Los Angeles (including Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Anaheim) and San Francisco (including San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley) Bay areas, account for 85% of the total AEL,” FEMA says.
United States of America, geographic regions
