Search and rescue efforts ramp up in Texas after severe flooding
At least 59 people are dead following widespread flooding in Texas. Among those dead are 21 children.
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National Post
an hour ago
- National Post
More Canadians using air conditioning to beat the heat, says Statistics Canada
A new report from Statistics Canada says just over two-thirds, or 68 per cent, of Canadian household are reporting use of air conditioning or cooling systems such as heat pumps to beat the heat of summer. That's up from 64 per cent in 2021. Article content Air conditioning can offset some of the health and safety effects of heat waves, says StatCan but the agency is also urging Canadians to conserve energy by turning the a/c down when they aren't home. Article content Article content Article content Article content Air conditioner ownership varies across Canada. Article content People in newer homes were predictably more likely to have an air conditioner: 80 per cent of homes built in 2001 and later, compared with 58 per cent of homes built before 1960. Article content Air conditioning was also more prevalent among homeowners (76 per cent) than renters (52 per cent). It was also more likely in households with higher incomes (82 per cent of those earning more than $150,000 before taxes) than by households with lower incomes (55 per cent among those earning less than $50,000). Article content There were no differences based on age. Article content Atlantic Canadians prefer to maintain slightly cooler temperatures than other regions of the country, at 19.8 C. Natural Resources Canada suggests an indoor thermostat range of 22 C to 25 C. Article content Article content Article content As of 2025, just over half (51 per cent) of Canadians with an air conditioner reported turning it off or down when they go away on vacation for one week or longer, says StatCan. Households in the Prairies (56 per cent) and British Columbia (56 per cent) are most likely to do so. Article content Meanwhile, only a third (28 per cent) of folks out of town for the weekend reported turning air conditioning off or down while away. Adults aged 30 to 44 years were most likely, compared with people 60 years and older. About 26 per cent of people aged 15 to 64 years reported turning it off or down while at work or school. Article content People aged 75 years and older (25 per cent) were more likely to turn down their air conditioning for short absences, compared to people aged 45 to 59 (18 per cent). Article content The vast majority (82 per cent) of Canadians said they want to avoid wasting energy. Article content The second most-cited reason was to prolong the lifespan of their cooling equipment (7 per cent). This answer was more prevalent among people aged 30 to 59 years.
National Post
3 hours ago
- National Post
Canadian Paralympic swimmer Aurélie Rivard shares her summer hydration tips
Aurélie Rivard shares her summer hydration tips. Photo by Ketchum/Canadian Press Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. There's nothing quite like summer in Canada. After months of snow, ice and freezing rain, Canadians break out of their homes and embrace summer activities with wild enthusiasm. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS Enjoy the latest local, national and international news. Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events. Unlimited online access to National Post. National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE ARTICLES Enjoy the latest local, national and international news. Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events. Unlimited online access to National Post. National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors But with summer fun comes the importance of staying safe and healthy in the heat. According to a recent Liquid I.V. survey on Canadian hydration habits, 63 per cent of Canadians feel dehydrated regularly and many of us simply don't drink enough while we're out and about enjoying the sun. 'When you're dehydrated, you're not at your best, you feel tired, you feel unfocused,' says Marie-Kim Morin, Quebec sales director at Unilever. 'At Liquid I.V., we're trying to be there for people and help them have access to solutions to keep them hydrated.' Product reviews, deals, roundups and interviews to help you make better buying decisions. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again Some guidelines suggest we should be drinking 6-8 glasses of water a day, but 56 per cent of surveyed Canadians admitted they don't often reach this goal. 'A tip is to leave the house with a bottle of water, so you always have it with you and can drink along the way. If you add a Liquid I.V. sachet , you don't have to drink as much water because the electrolytes help keep you more hydrated,' says Morin. No-one understands the importance of hydration more than an athlete who needs to keep their body in prime condition. We caught up with decorated Canadian Paralympic swimmer, Aurélie Rivard, to hear about her upcoming plans and how she stays hydrated during hot summers. Q: How does your training and hydration routine change when the weather warms up? A: If we train outside when it's really hot, we add electrolytes to our water to make sure that we really maintain hydration, because they're very, very high intensity workouts. If we stay hydrated, the chances of us staying on top and being at our best are way higher. Q: What is your training schedule like when you're preparing for a competition? A: I have nine workouts in the water per week and then I also have gym training four times a week. I also run, so it's like 35 hours of training a week. And then the closer we get to competition, the more rest we need. It's also important to have healthy and positive distractions to stay mentally balanced. Q: And what are your favourite healthy distractions? A: Honestly, just talking to people that aren't swimmers! Going out for coffee and just spending time in the city with my family and friends. Talking about something else. Sometimes when we're surrounded by swimmers, we make everything a big deal and things can get quite stressful. To talk about other things that are going on in the world, with people who are not remotely related to the sport is very refreshing.
CTV News
6 hours ago
- CTV News
Searchers in helicopters and on horseback comb Texas flood debris for missing people
Damage is seen next to the Guadalupe River on Tuesday, July 8, 2025, after a flash flood swept through the area near Ingram, Texas. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis) HUNT, Texas -- Crews used backhoes and their bare hands Wednesday to dig through piles of debris that stretched for miles in the search for more than 160 people believed to be missing in the flash floods that laid waste to state's Hill Country. Over 100 bodies have been recovered, but the large number of missing suggested that the full extent of the catastrophe was still unclear five days after the disaster. 'We will not stop until every missing person is accounted for,' Gov. Greg Abbott told a news conference Tuesday. 'Know this also: There very likely could be more added to that list.' Officials have been seeking more information about those who were in the popular tourist destination during the Fourth of July holiday weekend but did not register at a camp or a hotel and may have been in the area without many people knowing, the governor said. The riverbanks and hills of Kerr County along the Guadalupe River, where most of the flood victims have been recovered so far, are filled with vacation cabins, youth camps and campgrounds, including Camp Mystic, the century-old all-girls Christian summer camp where at least 27 campers and counsellors died. Officials said five campers and one counselor have still not been found. Crews in air boats and helicopters and on horseback combed the terrain. They also used excavators and their hands, going through the earth layer by layer, with search dogs sniffing for any sign of buried bodies. They were joined by hundreds of volunteers in one of the largest search operations in Texas history. The search has been slow, made more difficult by ongoing storms and dense layers of tangled trees and rubble. The flash flood was the deadliest from inland flooding in the U.S. since Colorado's Big Thompson Canyon flood on July 31, 1976, killed 144 people, said Bob Henson, a meteorologist with Yale Climate Connections. That flood surged through a narrow canyon packed with people on a holiday weekend marking Colorado's centennial. Public officials in charge of locating victims in Texas faced intensifying questions Tuesday about who was in charge of monitoring the weather and warning that floodwaters were barreling toward camps and homes. Abbott said U.S. President Donald Trump has pledged to provide whatever relief Texas needs to recover. Trump plans to visit the state Friday. Polls taken before the Texas floods show Americans largely believe the federal government should play a major role in preparing for and responding to natural disasters. Elsewhere, a deluge in New Mexico triggered flash floods that killed three people Tuesday. Scenes of devastation at Camp Mystic Outside the cabins at Camp Mystic where the girls had slept, mud-splattered blankets and pillows were scattered on a grassy hill that slopes toward the river. Also in the debris were pink, purple and blue luggage decorated with stickers. Among those who died at the camp were a second grader who loved pink sparkles and bows, a 19-year-old counsellor who enjoyed mentoring young girls and the camp's 75-year-old director. The flash floods erupted before daybreak Friday after massive rains sent water speeding down hills into the Guadalupe River, causing it to rise 26 feet (eight metres) in less than an hour. Some campers had to swim out of cabin windows to safety while others held onto a rope as they made their way to higher ground. Just two days before the flooding, Texas inspectors signed off on the camp's emergency planning. But five years of inspection reports released to The Associated Press did not provide any details about how campers would be evacuated or the specific duties assigned to each staff member and counselor. Although it's difficult to attribute a single weather event to climate change, experts say a warming atmosphere and oceans make catastrophic storms more likely. Where were the warnings? Questions mounted about what, if any, actions local officials took to warn campers and residents who were in the scenic area long known to locals as 'flash flood alley.' Leaders in Kerr county, where searchers have found about 90 bodies, said their first priority is recovering victims, not reviewing what happened in the moments before the flash floods. Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, the county's chief elected official, said the county does not have a warning system. Generations of families in the Hill Country have known the dangers. A 1987 flood forced the evacuation of a youth camp in the town of Comfort and swamped buses and vans. Ten teenagers were killed. Local leaders have talked for years about the need for a warning system. Kerr County sought a nearly US$1 million grant eight years ago for such a system, but the request was turned down by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Local residents balked at footing the bill themselves, Kelly said. Recovery and cleanup efforts go on The bodies of 30 children were among those that have been recovered in the county, which is home to Camp Mystic and several other summer camps, the sheriff said. The devastation spread across several hundred miles in central Texas all the way to just outside the capital of Austin. Aidan Duncan escaped just in time after hearing the muffled blare of a megaphone urging residents to evacuate Riverside RV Park in the Hill Country town of Ingram. All his belongings -- a mattress, sports cards, his pet parakeet's bird cage -- now sit caked in mud in front of his home. 'What's going on right now, it hurts,' the 17-year-old said. 'I literally cried so hard.' ------ By Nadia Lathan And John Seewer Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio. Associated Press writers Joshua A. Bickel in Kerrville, Texas, Jim Vertuno in Austin, Texas, and John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas, contributed to this report.
