At Least Six People Dead In US Heatwave Over Weekend

A massive heat wave that has seared more than 200 million Americans from the Central U.S. to the East Coast over the weekend came to an end Monday, after being linked to several deaths, and forcing events to be canceled

NEW YORK, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Jul, 2019 ) :A massive heat wave that has seared more than 200 million Americans from the Central U.S. to the East Coast over the weekend came to an end Monday, after being linked to several deaths, and forcing events to be canceled.

The National Weather Service said that the "oppressive" heat spell finally ended across the Midwest and Northeast as a cold front passes through the region, with life returning to normalcy.

US media has blamed the heat wave for at least six deaths, including a hiker who had been found unconscious on a trail outside Washington on Saturday and two people who died earlier in the week in the eastern state of Maryland.

On the East Coast, New York City directed office buildings to set thermostats no lower than 78 degrees to reduce strain on its electrical grid. In Philadelphia on Sunday, several hundred people were evacuated from a retirement community because of a partial power outage that officials say may have been heat-related.

In New Jersey, the Oceanic Bridge over the Navesink River was closed Saturday evening after it got stuck. Monmouth County officials say heat caused expansion of the metal encasing the drawbridge.