Greece American tourist a retired cop, 59, not returned from a solo hike, Amorgos Island, 11 June 24

[nhmemorymaker]

This one's not behind a paywall:

British man dies of suspected heart attack on Mount Vesuvius in heatwave

The 56-year-old tourist was visiting the volcano near Naples with his family as temperatures in Italy reached 40C

www.theguardian.com

Thanks.

 

[Herat]

dbm

 

[Artis]

Since this comment replies to mine, and seems to argue with me…I grew up in the embassy environment: I am personally familiar. I might be average, but I know.

Not intended to argue anything! Just stating a fact. I agree with you on the propaganda, serving business interests, etc.

 

[Artis]

I hope that people are getting the point that when your are 50-60+, no amount of exercise, diet, fasting, superfoods, medications, vitamins, anti-oxidants, operations, hormone treatments, colonic irrigations, meditations, yoga, DNA re-working or other such is going to turn you back into being 30 years old.

It may ameliorate disease progress and lessen pain but there is a degenerative, pathologic process going on that will get to your vital centers and can become fatally unmasked in high-stress situations.

And, tragically, prior knowledge of a trail cannot protect even a 30 year old in situations of hyperthermia and dehydration.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/18/us/california-family-yosemite-final-moments-trnd/index.html

That Gerrish family tragedy was so terribly sad. The baby and the dog just killed me and the parents had to be so distressed to know they brought them to that point.

 

[Herat]

That Gerrish family tragedy was so terribly sad. The baby and the dog just killed me and the parents had to be so distressed to know they brought them to that point.

I think that tragedy was really a surprise and brought home how vulnerable we are even when we believe we have experience. As I recall they were generally found at the lower points of a ravine which makes it sound like it would be cooler area. However, when it so very hot, thermal inversions cause the heat to concentrate at lower elevations and areas that don't get wind, very counter-intuitive to thinking the heat would be at the top of a hill, not the bottom.

I'm thankful they were found and at least the family and friends got answers.

 

[SimplyCass]

Volunteers travel from L.A. to Greece in search of missing retired deputy

The search for a retired Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy who went missing on the Greek island of Amorgos was reinforced Friday with the arrival of two “waves” of volunteers from Southern California.

www.latimes.com

The LA Times (major regional newspaper that serves Hermosa Beach) has an article. It's by a staff writer, so it's not just a press release or wire story. Good to see some more coverage on this.

 

[Herat]

Volunteers travel from L.A. to Greece in search of missing retired deputy

The search for a retired Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy who went missing on the Greek island of Amorgos was reinforced Friday with the arrival of two “waves” of volunteers from Southern California.

www.latimes.com

The LA Times (major regional newspaper that serves Hermosa Beach) has an article. It's by a staff writer, so it's not just a press release or wire story. Good to see some more coverage on this.

Anyway around that LA Times paywall?

 

[Artis]

Anyway around that LA Times paywall?

/web/20240625051113/https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-06-22/volunteers-travel-from-l-a-to-greece-in-search-of-missing-sheriffs-deputy

 

[Artis]

/web/20240625051113/https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-06-22/volunteers-travel-from-l-a-to-greece-in-search-of-missing-sheriffs-deputy

The additional volunteers come days after the brother of the missing man pleaded in a YouTube video for the U.S. government to provide assistance.

“I need help here, and I don’t think I’m asking that much here,” Oliver Calibet said in a video posted Sunday. “This is a U.S. citizen who needs to be brought home.... I just want to find my brother. Please support any way you can.”

*sigh*

The cavalry isn't coming; the cops aren't there to protect you and "we're here from the government and we're here to help" was a joke by Ronald Reagan. I know it's been discussed but I'm shocked that grown people think otherwise.

 

[Herat]

The additional volunteers come days after the brother of the missing man pleaded in a YouTube video for the U.S. government to provide assistance.

“I need help here, and I don’t think I’m asking that much here,” Oliver Calibet said in a video posted Sunday. “This is a U.S. citizen who needs to be brought home.... I just want to find my brother. Please support any way you can.”

*sigh*

The cavalry isn't coming; the cops aren't there to protect you and "we're here from the government and we're here to help" was a joke by Ronald Reagan. I know it's been discussed but I'm shocked that grown people think otherwise.

Sadly, Oliver Calibet is in a better position to get assistance from very knowledgeable people than about 99% of the John Q Public American traveler in Greece

1. Eric Calibet has lots of friends on Amorgos and is known to people there for his personality and likely good Greek language abilities. He's already got a base of local people who will go out of their way to help,

2. Eric's American LE and SAR buddies are willing and able to make the 30 hour trip to Amorgos, where they can extend their considerable professional expertise and knowledge of SAR techniques. Two at a time tells you how much of a commitment this is in terms of their time, finances, and their health, too.

 

[RickshawFan]

I think that tragedy was really a surprise and brought home how vulnerable we are even when we believe we have experience. As I recall they were generally found at the lower points of a ravine which makes it sound like it would be cooler area. However, when it so very hot, thermal inversions cause the heat to concentrate at lower elevations and areas that don't get wind, very counter-intuitive to thinking the heat would be at the top of a hill, not the bottom.

I'm thankful they were found and at least the family and friends got answers.

Yes, it was a fire ravaged area, so, like the hills in Greece, it was totally exposed to the sun. Top of the canyon, bottom of the canyon, it was ALL too hot, the hike was too long and strenuous, and they hadn't taken enough water. We have the same thing happening in several locations right now.

 

[Herat]

At least one responsible travel group has made changes in their hiking trip choices for Europe due to the concern for extreme heatwaves:

Travel company adapting trips according to heat levels​

Radek Nowak, active product manager for Intrepid Travel – an agency that specialises in walking holidays, said they have had to adapt trips according to the heat: “The soaring summer temperatures in Europe are certainly making it more challenging for people to do more active holidays.”
Intrepid no longer runs hiking trips in Spain and Portugal during the hottest months of July and August. Winter trips have been added instead in countries such as Greece and Croatia.
Radek added: “When groups are doing walks or hikes in the warm weather, we plan our days around the weather, heading out early in the morning before the heat reaches its peak.”

Intrepid Travel has been around a long time and has a good reputation. Good to see them making these changes.

 

[Kye Zeeb]

At least one responsible travel group has made changes in their hiking trip choices for Europe due to the concern for extreme heatwaves:

Travel company adapting trips according to heat levels​

Radek Nowak, active product manager for Intrepid Travel – an agency that specialises in walking holidays, said they have had to adapt trips according to the heat: “The soaring summer temperatures in Europe are certainly making it more challenging for people to do more active holidays.”
Intrepid no longer runs hiking trips in Spain and Portugal during the hottest months of July and August. Winter trips have been added instead in countries such as Greece and Croatia.
Radek added: “When groups are doing walks or hikes in the warm weather, we plan our days around the weather, heading out early in the morning before the heat reaches its peak.”

Intrepid Travel has been around a long time and has a good reputation. Good to see them making these changes.

Although the move away from hiking packages in the hotter months appears to be a sensible move, will it encourage keen hikers to book a holiday and go solo hiking instead, if an organised group is not available?

 

[Herat]

Although the move away from hiking packages in the hotter months appears to be a sensible move, will it encourage keen hikers to book a holiday and go solo hiking instead, if an organised group is not available?

Well, one can't readily fix stupid, as the saying goes.

 

[Herat]

Heatwave spawning even more sensible recommendations: Proper hydration is everything.

England fans told to drink non-alcoholic beer in Cologne heatwave

The German authorities are handing out sunblock and water as the temperature heads towards 30C before England face Slovenia

www.thetimes.com

 

[FoxxTraxx]

Travel company adapting trips according to heat levels​

I heard yesterday that some Olympic athletes are bringing their own air conditioning units to the Paris Olympiad next month. They are afraid of expected hot weather interfering with their sleep and impacting their performances.

 

[Occam's Zebra]

And another death:

British tourist dies of heart attack on Mount Vesuvius

Mark John Irwin, 56, collapsed during the long ascent to the volcano’s crater as a spate of tourist deaths hits the scorching Mediterranean

www.thetimes.com

Naples was about 80 yesterday with 71% humidity. Add the cardiac stress of a 2 hour stairmaster-like climb up Mt. Vesuvius

Naples was 40 C, which is 104 F. With 71% humidity, the "feels like" temperature is 163 F (source: National Weather Center calculator).

 

[Herat]

I heard yesterday that some Olympic athletes are bringing their own air conditioning units to the Paris Olympiad next month. They are afraid of expected hot weather interfering with their sleep and impacting their performances.

Oh yeah. Paris in a heatwave. Not a nice idea.

Probably no one would have forseen this a decade or so ago when the choice for Paris in the summer was made.

Too bad we don't have Helsinki or Oslo coming up for summer Olympic potential.

 

[Herat]

Naples was 40 C, which is 104 F. With 71% humidity, the "feels like" temperature is 163 F (source: National Weather Center, i calculator).

Last night I was reading about the effect of humidity on the incidence of heat stroke and it is, indeed, profound.

Far lower air temperatures are needed to induce heat stroke with high humidity.

You would not think of the barren hills of the Greek Islands as humid, but their proximity to the ocean gives them surprising levels of humidity. I was trying to find the average daytime humidity on Naxos (closest weather station I can find to Amorgos) but I couldn't find it in my brief look last night.

 

[Herat]

I found this specifically about Crete:

The source, below, showed a graph where average humidity on Crete ranged from about 54% in summer to nearly 70% in January.
Warm air can absorb more moisture than cold air. The relative humidity indicates how much moisture can be physically contained in the air. At high humidity, a person feels uncomfortable and perceives this as oppressive. In general, a relative humidity of 40-60% feels pleasant. With only 57% humidity on average, it is quite dry in July. The highest value of 68% is experienced here in January.

With a heatwave temp of 104 and maybe 50% humidity, the Heat Index is 130 F

Zowie.

Heat Index Calculator