By Marshall Griffin, KWMU
Jefferson City, MO –
| To see a list of cooling centers, click here. |
The death toll in the St. Louis region from the heat is now at lease seven, after a 60-year old man was found inside his home Monday.
The man lived alone with no air conditioner or fan.
That comes after officials on Monday blamed the deaths of three elderly residents on the heat wave that has settled over the region for two weeks. Three heat-related deaths have also been reported on the Illinois side of the river.
Dante Gliniecki, with the State Emergency Management Agency says state government is getting more involved in helping people stay cool. In addition to consolidating lists of cooling sites, at least four state office buildings in St. Louis are now available as cooling centers.
Those buildings are: Mill Creek State Office Building (220 South Jefferson, M-F, 8-5); Prince Hall State Office Building (4411 North Newstead, M-F, 8-8); Wainwright State Office Building (111 North 7th Street, M-F, 8-5); Chouteau Building (3101 Chouteau, M-F, 8-8)
St. Louis City Schools say they're prepared to shorten school days when school starts next week if the heat continues. "A number of our buildings do not have air conditioning and we are making contingency plans should this heat continue," noted Superintendent Diana Bourisaw.
Bourisaw, though, says she doesn't anticipate a need cancel any classes since the current heat wave is expected break before Monday.