By Venus Mari Zapedzki
Gunfire can be heard across the city this Saturday night as this week's heatwave has blacked out Onyx Heights.
The Medical Center at midnight on Saturday, with lights from the mainland in the background.
Increased use of air conditioning has overwhelmed the City's power source. All the gas stations are, at the time of writing, out of fuel, so personal generators are no longer an option.
The only exceptions to the total blackout are the emergency services, who have their own arrangements for such circumstances.
The authorities believe that it will be Monday evening before power is restored back to normal.
The heatwave began on Monday, with a high that day of 97, climbing to over 100 on Tuesday. At no point in the week has the temperature dropped below the mid-80s. The humidity has remained high.
Taking medical precautions
The number of people attending the Onyx Heights Medical Center for heat-related issues has remained lower than might be expected, according to Dr Eun Park, who spoke to the Chronicle on Friday. But she refused to speculate on why that was.
One possibility is that people have taken official advice, such as packing extra supplies, avoiding caffeine and alcohol, drinking electrolytes if doing exhaustive activity etc.
Another possibility is that people are not admitting themselves to hospital because they can ill afford a hefty medical bill. Dr Park points out that the Medical center makes treatment affordable for everyone, regardless of their income. They have flexible payment options and plans for those without insurance.
She advises anyone experiencing moderate to severe fatigue, nausea, fever, lightheadedness, fainting, dizziness, or any of the symptoms commonly associated with dehydration and heat-related illnesses to immediately come to the ER.
Amendment: Sunday Morning
The Medical Center has reported that there was a spike in admissions on Saturday night due to the blackout and to gunshot wounds. We will publish more about this as soon as we have more details.
How has the heatwave affected you?
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