Extreme heat kills more Americans than any other natural disaster, but deaths remain undercounted

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Extreme heat kills more Americans annually than any other natural disaster. Still, a joint investigation between Action News and ABC News investigation found that heat-related deaths remain grossly undercounted in many areas.

Rhonda Simengaard believes the heat caused her parents' deaths in East Central Fresno this summer.

Action News met with her as she sifted through her parents' belongings, reminders of a 53-year relationship that took them from California to the Pacific Northwest and back.

"It's been a lot. And now, it's just down to me," said Simengaard.

Simengaard's parents lived in the Valley for 40 years. They loved their humble trailer in East Central Fresno.

"Their home was all they had, along with each other," said Simengaard.

Investigators found Shelly and Bob Morgan passed away inside their home on July 9th. They were 85 and 82.

The death certificates state Bob died from cardiac arrest and Shelly of respiratory arrest, but their daughter blames something else.

"It was induced by the heat. I mean, there's no doubt about it."

Simengaard says the temperature inside the trailer began to rise three days before her parents passed.

"There was a five-hour power outage, and they were only relying on fans. In a tin can. So, when you take the fans away, it just swelters."

With the power out, Simengaard says the trailer that her parents loved so much became a pressure cooker.

Data from the National Weather Service shows that the high temperature in East Central Fresno was between 108 and 114 degrees Fahrenheit in the days before July 9th.

"It got so hot. It never cooled down," said Simengaard.

As the summer sun beat down on the trailer's metal roof, Simengaard says the temperature inside was enough to take her breath away, even with the power back on.

Our investigation reveals the Morgans' story could be part of a growing number of what experts call heat-related deaths.

"Being in heat for an extended period of time and not having access to air conditioning just prolongs that person's exposure to heat, and the longer you are in the heat, the more at risk you are of suffering complications from the heat," explains Dr. Stephanie Widmer, an emergency room physician.

When we asked Dr. Widmer to review the Morgans' cases, she said, "I don't think that heat-related illness can be ruled out, and I do think it's something that should be considered."

Dr. Widmer says there's no national standard for how death certifiers count heat-related deaths. It varies from county to county.

Action News obtained the Morgans' death certificates to see if we could tell if heat might have been considered. But we found no mention of it.

The certificates only state the immediate cause of death and the other underlying issues the Morgans suffered, signed by their family doctor.

"They put cardiac arrest for one, they put respiratory arrest for another one. Essentially, everybody dies ultimately of cardiac arrest or respiratory arrest. Everybody stops breathing, everybody's heart stops," said Dr. Widmer.

The Fresno County Sheriff-Coroner's Office told ABC News, "Robert and Shelly Morgan are not Coroner cases" meaning the deaths were not considered suspicious. They added, "Therefore, there will be no report."

But Simengaard wonders whether the Morgans' deaths were truly natural, meaning heat played no role at all, as they were classified.

She's pressing the Coroner's Office to do an investigation.

Fresno County officials did not detail to ABC News why the deaths were considered 'natural' and why they won't further investigate.

"Even if they were to say, cardiac arrest due to heat-related circumstances, right? At least, it puts that heat-related in there so that it can become a problem. If it's not a problem, we don't address it," said Simengaard.

Some experts believe the true number of heat-related deaths each year may be upwards of 10,000.

"We can't even begin to know the gravity or the weight of this public health concern without knowing what the actual numbers are," said Dr. Widmer.

Simengaard is now trying to grieve and make sense of her parent's deaths that she says are part of the uncounted, dying from the heat.

"I haven't had time to mourn. I'm going to take my time going home so I can do some processing," said Simengaard.

In 2024, we saw the hottest July since record-keeping began in 1887.

Simengaard is worried other cases have gone uncounted, and she's trying to raise awareness because she fears there will be more.

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