The number of deaths from opioid overdoses continued to climb in Virginia in 2016 -- though at a slower rate than in the first years of this decade.
In 2016, 822 people died of opioid overdoses in the Commonwealth -- up from 811 in 2015.
Just four years ago, in 2012, 572 people died of opioid overdoses.
Communities along Virginia's coast were hard-hit. Both Norfolk and Virginia Beach had 57 opioid deaths, and many other coastal cities and counties -- including Newport News, Chesapeake, Portsmouth and Hampton, also had double-digit numbers of fatal overdoses.
The number of overdose deaths in Fairfax County fell, from 60 in 2015 to 52 in 2016. In Prince William, the number rose from 22 to 29. And in Loudoun County, the number rose from 16 to 24.
