Three Decades On: The Impact of Chicago’s July 1995 Heatwave on Creating the Office of Emergency Management and Communications

CHICAGO (WLS) — This time, 30 year ago, Chicago was grappling with extreme and unprecedented deadly heat.

ABC7 is looking back on the tragedy that changed the way the city responds to natural disasters and led to a major system overhaul.

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As summer brings its heat, some Chicagoans may find themselves reflecting on the devastating weather-related natural disaster that struck their city 30 years ago.

In July 1995, the Chicagoland area experienced a historic heat wave, with the heat index peaking in the mid-120s, leaving more than 700 people dead.

“It’s important for neighbors to check on each other,” said then-Mayor Richard M. Daley. “Homeowners should visit other homeowners, and those living in apartments should look in on fellow residents, especially where senior citizens are known to reside.”

RELATED | 30 years later: Organizers remember 1995 heat wave victims, advocate for vulnerable Chicagoans

The surge in fatalities, paired with a communication gap between residents and emergency services, left first responders and morgue staff overwhelmed and understaffed. The situation became so dire that excess bodies had to be kept in refrigerated trucks, awaiting their turn at the morgue.

“I’d been here about a year, and I don’t think any of us really realized the gravity of what was happening until we started seeing the refrigeration trucks,” ABC7 Chicago AccuWeather Meteorologist Tracy Butler said.

Butler remembers the heat wave and the changes the city made in its wake to help prevent future disasters.

“We learned a lot from 1995, and one of the things was, how do we get better at warning folks about these things?” Butler said. “And the weather service made various changes to their heat watch programs… their excessive heat warning programs… learn more about how cooling centers are.”

The city established the OEMC, or Office of Emergency Management and Communications, months after the 1995 heat wave.

Its goal is to streamline crucial information between Chicagoans and emergency services.

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