The Greatest Killer in New Orleans Wasn’t the Hurricane. It Was the Heat.

NEW ORLEANS — In galore ways, Iley Joseph’s one-bedroom flat was an perfect spot to thrust retired a hurricane. It was connected the 3rd level — overmuch excessively precocious to flood — of a gathering that was sturdy and new, portion of a sleek, gated assemblage for older residents similar him.

But successful the days aft Hurricane Ida, his location began to consciousness similar a trap. The immense powerfulness nonaccomplishment that chopped disconnected energy to New Orleans rendered Mr. Joseph’s air-conditioner useless and his refrigerator thing much than a cupboard. Even worse, the outage froze the building’s elevators successful place, sealing him wrong the gathering due to the fact that his wellness problems prevented him from utilizing the stairs.

Mr. Joseph, 73, insisted successful telephone conversations with his sons that helium was doing conscionable fine. But successful his apartment, No. 312, it kept getting hotter. On Sept. 2, the 4th time aft the tempest deed — the hottest yet — a person recovered him lying inactive connected the broadside of his bed.

Only successful caller days, arsenic the past lights flickered backmost connected successful New Orleans, person officials present discovered the existent toll of Hurricane Ida. Unlike successful the Northeast, wherever galore who perished were taken by floodwaters and tornadoes, vigor has emerged arsenic the top slayer successful New Orleans.

Of 14 deaths caused by the tempest successful the city, Mr. Joseph’s and 9 others are believed to beryllium tied to the heat. Experts accidental determination are astir apt more. And friends of those who died person begun to inquire whether the authorities oregon flat landlords could person done much to support older residents earlier they died, often alone, successful stiflingly blistery homes.

“Heat is simply a hazard that we simply haven’t fixed capable attraction to,” said David Hondula, a prof astatine Arizona State University who studies the effects of sweltering temperatures. “All cities are successful the aboriginal stages of knowing what an effectual vigor effect looks like.”

In New Orleans, officials acceptable up air-conditioned cooling centers crossed the metropolis and distributed food, h2o and crystal astir town. But for residents similar Mr. Joseph who could not permission their buildings, the assistance mightiness arsenic good person been worlds away.

All 10 radical whose deaths person been tied to the vigor were successful their 60s and 70s, and they died implicit 4 broiling days, the past of which was Sept. 5, a afloat week aft the storm.

Heat astir apt contributes to much deaths each twelvemonth than are officially recorded, Professor Hondula said. Though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports less than 700 heat-related deaths a year, immoderate studies person estimated 5,000 to 12,000. Last month, The New York Times recovered that 600 much radical died successful Oregon and Washington successful the past week of June, during a vigor wave, than usually would have, a fig 3 times the authorities officials’ estimates of heat-related deaths.

People who dice from the vigor whitethorn not admit their symptoms arsenic life-threatening, and heat-related deaths tin besides hap suddenly, with small warning. The astir predominant origin is cardiovascular failure, erstwhile the bosom cannot pump humor accelerated enough. Less predominant are deaths from vigor stroke, erstwhile a person’s interior somesthesia rises by respective degrees and the assemblage cannot chill off, causing organs similar the brain, bosom oregon kidneys to fail.

Laura Bergerol, a 65-year-old New Orleans photographer, died connected Sept. 5. She had planned to evacuate to Florida earlier the tempest but told friends she had occupation uncovering a edifice room. By the clip she arranged plans, it was excessively unsafe to leave. After the storm, an errant $400 complaint connected her slope relationship had near her without capable wealth to get out. She stocked up connected candles and hunkered down successful her second-floor flat successful an affordable analyzable built for artists successful the Bywater vicinity downriver from the French Quarter.

“Missed my model of opportunity,” she wrote connected Twitter. “Curse you #HurricaneIda.”

Neighbors said Ms. Bergerol mostly stayed successful her flat with the doors and windows closed. Still, she seemed to beryllium surviving. On Sept. 3, she texted Josh Hailey, a neighbor, asking if she could sojourn his feline portion helium was out. “I person plentifulness of treats,” she wrote. The adjacent day, she joined neighbors successful the building’s courtyard for a showing of “Cinderella.”

On Sunday Mr. Hailey fto himself into her flat erstwhile she did not reply the door. He recovered her lying connected the level and tried to resuscitate her, but it was excessively late. That evening, the neighbors played brass-band euphony successful the courtyard and danced for Ms. Bergerol, recalling her vivid bluish eyes and frequent, wide smile.

By then, metropolis wellness officials had begun to recognize the information that older residents were facing. A time earlier Ms. Bergerol’s death, they evacuated 8 apartments for older residents, including respective wherever radical had died. Now, metropolis officials are considering mandating, during earthy disasters, that subsidized apartments serving older oregon disabled residents person generators, behaviour payment checks oregon person a gathering manager connected the spot astatine each times, a spokesperson said.

The projected measures are gaining momentum partially due to the fact that of deaths similar that of Mr. Joseph, the antheral stuck successful flat 312.

Mr. Joseph was good known astatine Village de Jardin, a comparatively affordable complex successful New Orleans East for radical 55 and older. It is owned by the Louisiana Housing Corporation, a authorities agency, and managed by Latter & Blum, a ample existent property institution that manages properties crossed respective states. The lodging bureau said Latter & Blum had encouraged tenants to evacuate and then, aft the storm, brought cooling buses to the spot and supplies to tenants who chose to stay.

Mr. Joseph had retired years agone from a occupation selling car parts. He often chatted with neighbors, and his regular included grabbing java and beignets astir town. He was known for his faith, his emotion of his household and, to some, his trademark reply, “Yes, indeed,” which led his grandchildren to telephone him Grandpa Yes Indeed. Many much radical knew him for his humor, which is however helium became friends with Mr. Righteous, 45, who was drawn to Mr. Joseph erstwhile helium was cracking jokes astatine an lawsuit hosted by the Franklin Avenue Baptist Church.

In the days aft the hurricane, neighbors looked retired for Mr. Joseph, who was subsisting connected peanut food and jelly sandwiches. One person brought him a lukewarm sheet of food. A neighbour crossed the hallway charged Mr. Joseph’s telephone utilizing a car artillery and an inverter.

But Sept. 2 was the astir grueling time yet. Around 1:45 p.m., the vigor scale was nearing 103, and Mr. Joseph’s telephone had died again. He poked his caput extracurricular his doorway and motioned for a pistillate successful the hallway to travel closer. The woman, Rhonda Quinn, thought helium looked unwell and asked if helium needed immoderate air. He brushed her off, joking that aft days successful the heat, helium smelled excessively atrocious to spell out, she said.

What helium did need, helium said, was to complaint his telephone to marque a call. Ms. Quinn recovered idiosyncratic to help, but erstwhile she tried to instrumentality the telephone sometime earlier 3 p.m., helium did not reply her repeated knocks. She assumed helium had gone out, and she left.

Shortly after, Mr. Joseph’s person from church, Mr. Righteous, pulled into the complex’s parking batch with a container of oatmeal pick pies and different snacks. He, too, received nary reply aft knocking connected Mr. Joseph’s door. When helium opened it, helium recovered Mr. Joseph slumped to the broadside of the bed, arsenic if helium had been sitting connected its borderline and looking retired the window.

His decease has near his 2 sons grief-stricken and stunned, incapable to recognize however their begetter could marque it done the hurricane’s wrath without a scratch lone to perish successful the vigor that followed.

“He didn’t dice from flooding, helium didn’t dice from a lightning bolt,” said his oldest son, Iley Joseph Jr., 45. “It’s just, he’s gone.”

Sophie Kasakove contributed reporting from New Orleans. Susan C. Beachy and Sheelagh McNeill contributed research.