NEW ORLEANS — With record heat continuing, including triple-digit highs expected next week, New Orleans officials called for a special press conference on Tuesday afternoon to announce an emergency declaration to focus on health and safety within the community.
Mayor LaToya Cantrell said after meeting with Homeland Security and the National Weather Service, the city must prepare for more excessive heat while still be on guard during the middle of hurricane season.
With six heat-related deaths recorded this summer, Mayor Cantrell warns people that children, elderly, homeless and those dealing with disabilities are most vulnerable.
The city ensures recreation departments (NORD) and locations will be open seven days a week for the remainder of the summer.
The city will also activate resources to assist with the unhoused citizens in an ongoing basis in relations to this weather emergency.
City employees, outdoor workers and first responders will also receive support in combating extreme heat.
"This is exactly why you've heard me and my team talk over and over about our fund balance, one that this administration ensures that we are great stewards over the physical purse, because again, in the middle of – on the front lines of climate change – and this is yet another example of how we need to be able to stand up in real time to defend ourselves and our people in terms of what can come our way, but also what is also a part of our environment of existing conditions."
NWS official Benjamin Schott said, "No person alive has experienced a summer like this in the city," and that the deadly heat is locked in for quite some time.
Dr. Jennifer Avegno also stated that "heat kills more individuals worldwide than any other impact of climate change – more than floods, more than cold – so this is serious."
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