(Photo: WBOC)SALISBURY, Md.- Just when Delmarva began to feel some relief from the heat, the peninsula was hit with another scorcher. And Thursday was just round one. Wicomico County is helping people keep their cool with not one but two cooling centers: one at the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center; the other at the MAC Center.
"It's extremely hot outside," lamented Samantha Matthews of Salisbury.
Matthews told WBOC she and her nieces just could not bear the scorching heat anymore and took advantage of the free ride from Shore Transit to head to the Civic Center to cool off.
"I can't take the heat due to me having breathing problems and everything. It got to be a bit too hot for me," she explained.
Wicomico County Health Officer Lori Brewster said people like Matthews are the reason the county opens up these cooling centers.
"We know that we have individuals in the community that do not have air conditioning or places that family members or other places they can go for air conditioning, and some of them actually have complicating respiratory or other chronic conditions which make them more susceptible to heat-related illnesses," Brewster said.
WBOC found some people braving the heat.
"Oh Lordy, it's just too hot today, it's too hot," moaned Charmaine Bonneville while at the park in Salisbury with her two daughters.
"It feels like 100 degrees out here," said her daughter Najia.
"I'm going right back home after this and stay in the air at home," Bonneville said.
Others took it all in stride, while staying in the shade.
"It's hot but you know, it's summer and it is what it is," noted Margaret Harris. "Nothing you can really do about it, just stay hydrated, drink lots of fluids."
The Civic Center will be open again from 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday. For those over 50, the MAC Center is another option for staying cool.
You can find a complete list of cooling centers across Delmarva here.
