Official: 5 homeless people died in Seattle during extreme cold snap
Jan 19, 2024, 11:20 AM | Updated: 11:21 am
A King County official confirmed to MyNorthwest Thursday that at least five homeless people have died in Seattle in the past week due to the extreme cold.
At least three of those who died were in their 60s; one was in his 50s, and another was in her 30s.
One of those who died was outside the Ballard Branch of the Seattle Public Library in his van.
“He was a regular patron of the library and we are grieving for the loss,” Bennett Barr, Communications Strategist for the Seattle Public Libraries.
On Tuesday, KUOW first reported the King County Medical Examiner’s Office announced that at least five people have died from hypothermia.
More efforts to protect the homeless: Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission works to bring the homeless inside this winter
Despite the activation of severe weather shelters, hundreds of homeless people slept in the bitter cold.
Seattle City Hall, Seattle Center’s Exhibition Hall, and the Salvation Army in the SoDo neighborhood all reported to have served hundreds of people, but despite that, hundreds were forced to stay outside.
