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Woman dies from heat in St. Louis city; 30 heat-related illnesses reported in area

(via Flickr/Christian Haugen)

Corrected at 2:30 p.m. to reflect correct date that woman was discovered. An earlier version using original source information stated the incorrect date of July 7.

Updated 1:45 p.m.

The city of St. Louis is confirming its first heat related death of the year.

The unidentified 52-year-0ld woman was found unresponsive in her home in the 4100 block of Iowa in south St. Louis on June 7. The coroner confirmed today that the excessive heat was the cause of death. The high temperature on June 7 was 96 degrees.

City health director Pamela Walker says the woman's husband found her inside the home, where the temperature read 100 degrees. The home had working air conditioning, but it wasn't turned on.

Mayor Francis Slay is asking people to encourage neighbors to turn their air conditioning on.

A Granite City man died under similar circumstances on Sunday.

Our earlier story:

So far, according to numbers released today by the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County Health Departments, 30 people suffering from heat-related illness have been reported by area hospitals over the last 24 hours.

Heat-related illness was reported relating to 14 individuals, ranging in age from 7 to 66 years old in the city of St. Louis, while 16 heat-related cases were reported in St. Louis County.

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Rachel is the justice correspondent at St. Louis Public Radio.