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Ministry of Health
Table 31
DEATHS FROM ACCIDENTS AND VIOLENCE BY LOCAL HEALTH AREA
BRITISH COLUMBIA, 1998

  Motor Other   Accidental   Total
  Vehicle Transport Accidental Fire/ Drowning/    
Local Health Area Accidents Accidents Poisoning Fall Flames Submersion Suicide Homicide Other Deaths ASMR
001 Fernie 6 - - - 1 - - - 2 9 6.08
002 Cranbrook 3 - 2 - - - 8 1 - 14 5.01
003 Kimberley - - 1 - - - - - - 1 0.88
004 Windermere 1 - - - - - - - - 1 1.59
005 Creston 1 - 1 1 1 - 2 - 2 8 5.79
006/007 Kootenay Lake/Nelson 10 2 - 2 - 1 1 - 9 25 9.87
009 Castlegar 3 1 3 - - - 1 - - 8 5.56
010 Arrow Lakes 1 - 1 - - - 1 - 2 5 7.45
011 Trail 3 2 1 5 - - 6 - 4 21 8.61
012/013 Grand Forks/Kettle Valley 5 - 1 3 - - 2 - 1 12 7.54
014 Southern Okanagan 5 1 2 2 - - 3 - 3 16 7.27
015 Penticton 5 - 2 4 1 1 2 - 4 19 4.07
016 Keremeos 1 1 - 1 - - 1 - - 4 10.12
017 Princeton 1 - - - - - 1 1 - 3 11.17
018 Golden 1 1 - - - - - - 1 3 3.69
019 Revelstoke 4 - - 1 - - 1 - 1 7 7.05
020 Salmon Arm 11 1 1 3 3 - 2 1 5 27 7.72
021 Armstrong-Spallumcheen 3 - - 1 - - 1 1 - 6 5.71
022 Vernon 11 1 5 7 2 1 8 - 6 41 7.23
023 Central Okanagan 7 1 8 19 - - 10 1 7 53 2.90
024 Kamloops 15 1 12 13 - 1 22 1 6 71 6.99
025 100 Mile House 3 - 5 4 - - 3 - 1 16 9.55
026 North Thompson 1 - - - - - - 1 - 2 4.50
027 Cariboo-Chilcotin 10 1 - 2 - 1 5 1 1 21 7.74
028 Quesnel 5 2 1 2 - - 2 2 1 15 5.46
029 Lillooet 4 - - - - 1 - - - 5 10.90
030 South Cariboo 1 2 1 - - 3 - - - 7 9.45
031 Merritt 2 - 1 - 1 - 4 2 3 13 9.77
032 Hope 1 - 1 1 - - 1 - 4 8 7.38
033 Chilliwack 10 - 8 8 - 1 8 1 6 42 5.63
034 Abbotsford 8 - 10 9 1 1 9 2 8 48 4.10
035 Langley 15 - 4 8 3 - 12 1 9 52 4.57
036 Surrey 33 3 37 18 2 - 29 5 16 143 4.09
037 Delta 1 2 3 5 - - 7 - 2 20 1.95
038 Richmond 8 - 8 8 - - 6 - 5 35 2.09
040 New Westminster 5 - 5 8 - - 3 3 5 29 4.43
041 Burnaby 15 1 19 26 2 2 12 1 6 84 3.90
042 Maple Ridge 4 - 5 7 - - 11 1 1 29 4.07
043 Coquitlam 7 1 12 9 - 3 17 3 6 58 3.59
044 North Vancouver 6 3 12 4 - 1 6 - 5 37 2.84
045 West Vancouver-Bowen Is. 2 1 1 8 - 1 - - 4 17 1.89
046 Sunshine Coast 2 1 2 6 1 - 4 - 3 19 6.36
047 Powell River - - 5 7 3 - 4 - - 19 7.64
048 Howe Sound 2 - 3 - - - 4 - 6 15 5.64
049 Bella Coola Valley 2 - - - 1 - - - - 3 10.24
050 Queen Charlotte - 1 - - - - 1 - - 2 2.58
051 Snow Country - - - - - - - - - - -
052 Prince Rupert 1 2 - 2 - 1 4 - 1 11 6.01
053 Upper Skeena 5 - - - - - - - 6 11 22.87
054 Smithers 4 1 - 1 - - 2 - 2 10 6.08
055/093 Burns Lake/Eutsuk 1 - - - - - - - 1 2 3.34
056 Nechako 3 5 - 1 - - 3 1 2 15 9.18
057 Prince George 20 2 8 6 1 1 7 3 7 55 6.59
059 Peace River South 6 - 2 1 - 1 3 - 1 14 4.99
060 Peace River North 4 - 2 - - - 1 - 1 8 2.60
061 Greater Victoria 7 - 34 39 3 2 23 4 2 114 4.15
062 Sooke 2 - 5 2 - - 8 2 1 20 4.09
063 Saanich 1 - 3 4 - - 8 1 2 19 2.93
064 Gulf Islands 3 - - 1 1 - - - 1 6 3.01
065 Cowichan 6 1 1 3 1 2 9 - 3 26 4.42
066 Lake Cowichan 1 - - - - - 1 - - 2 5.12
067 Ladysmith 2 - - 4 - - 4 1 1 12 5.76
068 Nanaimo 5 1 8 15 - - 11 - 5 45 4.42
069 Qualicum 7 1 - 5 - - 5 - 5 23 4.84
070 Alberni 3 - 3 5 2 1 4 1 2 21 6.03
071 Courtenay 6 1 7 5 - 1 9 1 6 36 6.06
072/084 Campbell River/V.I. West 3 3 8 2 1 2 4 2 4 29 6.52
075 Mission 4 1 6 5 - - 3 1 2 22 6.32
076 Agassiz-Harrison 3 1 - - - - 1 - 1 6 7.25
077 Summerland - - - 1 - - 3 - 2 6 3.58
078 Enderby - - 2 1 - 1 2 - - 6 8.03
080 Kitimat - - 3 - - - 1 - - 4 3.49
081 Fort Nelson 3 - - - - - - - - 3 3.91
083 Central Coast - 2 - - - - - - - 2 9.11
085 Vancouver Island North 6 - 1 - 1 - 5 - - 13 8.03
087/094 Stikine/Telegraph Creek 2 - - - - - 3 - - 5 23.68
088 Terrace 6 - 2 4 - - 4 1 - 17 8.48
092 Nishga 1 3 - 1 - - - - - 5 24.18
161 Vancouver City Centre 5 - 28 9 - 1 17 1 5 66 5.86
162 Vancouver Downtown E. Side 7 - 71 10 - - 16 2 6 112 17.47
163 Vancouver North East 7 1 17 8 1 1 4 - 5 44 4.45
164 Vancouver West Side 6 - 7 9 - - 7 - 2 31 1.92
165 Vancouver Midtown 4 - 12 2 - 1 12 3 5 39 4.15
166 South Vancouver 9 - 13 10 - - 12 - 5 49 3.59
039 VANCOUVER TOTAL 39 1 155 48 1 3 70 7 28 352 5.41
  N.S. - - - - - - 1 1 1 3 -
  PROVINCIAL TOTAL 398 55 433 358 33 33 419 55 232 2,016 4.74
  PERCENT 19.7 2.7 21.5 17.8 1.6 1.6 20.8 2.7 11.5 100.0  

Note: Based on usual residence. ASMR - Age standardized mortality rate per 10,000 standard population.
PERCENT - Provincial total for each cause as a percent of the Provincial total for all deaths from external causes.
LHA 039 Vancouver Total may include unspecified Vancouver addresses.
N.S. - Not Stated. Non-residents are excluded.

HIGHLIGHTS TO TABLE 31
  • Deaths from accidents and violence are shown in this table based on the LHA of usual residence of the decedent, and not the location where the death occurred. Please also refer to Table 36 which presents data on deaths under age 75 years from accidents and violence, and Appendix 3 which shows various indicators for deaths from motor vehicle traffic accidents, accidental falls and suicide.

  • In the province in 1998, suicides (419), motor vehicle accidents (398) and accidental poisoning (433), including overdoses, each accounted for one in five deaths from external causes. Accidents falls (358) accounted for one in six deaths from accidents and violence.

  • The Age Standardized Mortality Rate (ASMR) for deaths from accidents and violence was 4.74 deaths per 10,000 standard population. Based on the usual residence of the decedent, there were 45 Local Health Areas (LHAs) which had ASMRs greater than the provincial rate (based on 5 or more deaths from external causes). Of these LHAs, eight had values which were at least twice the provincial rate. The five highest ASMRs, based on five or more deaths from accidents and violence, (number of deaths in parentheses) were:

    092Nishga24.18(5)
    087/094Stikine/Telegraph Creek23.68(5)
    053Upper Skeena22.87(11)
    162Vancouver Downtown East Side17.47(112)
    029Lillooet10.90(5)

  • There were 25 LHAs with accidents and violence ASMRs below the provincial rate (based on five or more deaths in the category). The five LHAs with the lowest ASMR values in 1998 for deaths from accidents and violence (based on 5 or more deaths in the category) were (number of deaths in parentheses):

    045West Vancouver-Bowen Is.1.89(17)
    164Vancouver West Side1.92(31)
    037Delta1.95(20)
    038Richmond2.09(35)
    060Peace River North2.60(8)

  • There were 398 deaths from motor vehicle accidents (MVA) in 1998 (ICD9 codes E810-E825). Since the number of MVA deaths vary considerably each year, it is preferable to use a broader time period for analysis. In the five-year period 1994-1998 shown in Appendix 3, there were 2,165 motor vehicle traffic accident fatalities (MVTA), a more specific and narrower definition (ICD9 codes E810-E819).

  • In 1998, there were six LHAs where 15 or more residents died from accidental poisoning, which includes drug overdoses. These LHAs were Vancouver Downtown East Side (71), Surrey (37), Greater Victoria (34), Vancouver City Centre (28), Burnaby (19), and Vancouver North East (17). Please refer to Table 45/Figure 27 for drug-induced deaths by LHA.

  • Deaths from accidental falls occurred most often in 1998 to residents of Greater Victoria (39), Burnaby (26), Central Okanagan (19), Surrey (18), and Nanaimo (15).

  • Suicide took 419 lives in 1998 and was the tenth leading cause of death in the province. Thirteen LHAs had 15 or more suicides in 1998; the highest were Surrey (29), Greater Victoria (23), Kamloops (22), Vancouver City Centre (17), Coquitlam (17) and Vancouver Downtown East Side (16).

  • The Standardized Mortality Ratios (SMR) for accidents and violence (external causes) are presented in Appendix 3 for health regions and local health areas, 1994-1998.