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Staying cool: Agencies prepare for beating summer’s heat
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Few use cooling centers; other plans being put in place to help vulnerable people
When the heat took an uncharacteristic climb for a couple of days in mid-June, one emergency cooling shelter opened in Richmond, but no one used it. Lack of use could be a problem, local officials say, and they are trying to figure out why the centers aren’t used. Heat is the leading cause of weather-related deaths in the United States, and not everyone is able to get away from it. “All the data shows temperatures are increasing every year,” Matthew Cain, director of the Wayne County Emergency Management Agency, said. High temperatures in June were running about average in Richmond as of June 25, in the low 80s.