Thunderstorm asthma: ninth person dies from rare weather event in Melbourne

Victorian health department says patient who had been in hospital since late November has died

A Ventolin inhaler
A ninth person has died as a result of the thunderstorm asthma event in Victoria that overwhelmed hospitals in November last year. Photograph: Tracey Nearmy/AAP

A ninth person has died after a devastating thunderstorm asthma event that hit Victoria in November.

A mass asthma event was triggered in Melbourne last year by a sudden drop in temperature from peaks of 35C combined with severe thunderstorms and winds that swept pollen into the air and shattered it into small enough particles to enter people’s lungs.

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Hospitals were overwhelmed as 8,500 patients sought help. Paramedics struggled to cope with an unprecedented 1,900 emergency calls over the space of just five hours.

On Wednesday Victoria’s Department of Health released a statement to say a ninth person, who had been in hospital since the mass asthma event occurred on 21 November, had died.

“No further patients remain in hospital,” the statement said. “The pollen season is now over in Victoria for this season and we do not expect to see thunderstorm activity triggering asthma or similar respiratory problems.”

A statewide investigation into the response of emergency services to the event is under way.