By Emma Goldston '24
On February 15th, millions of Texans woke up to a layer of snow on the ground. With the snow, power outages were not uncommon. As more rain and snow pelted the area, getting Texans’ power fixed became increasingly harder, and many citizens had to keep their food outside due to the cold. Energy unavailability also causes heat unavailability. As a result, layers were donned, and towels were stuffed underneath doors and around windows. Many Texans were also left without clean water, and nearly 13 million residents were under boil-water advisories.
Due to these terrible shortages, panic ensued. Texans flocked to grocery stores, having to look at meat selections with phone flashlights while being surrounded by empty shelves lacking essential items like milk, bread and eggs. Dispatch lines for water emergencies were buried in mountains of calls, close to 10,000 a day. In normal circumstances, the line gets close to 20 calls a day. The damages were felt heavily in Houston, as the mayor stated that at least 4,900 water pipes had burst throughout the city. New Yorkers and other seasonal area residents have seen their fair share of sweltering summer temperatures and freezing winters, but none would imagine having to boil water or even snow to stay hydrated. In Texas, warmer temperatures usually govern the environment, therefore preparations were profoundly inadequate.
These hardships forced Texans to rely on their own communities for help. Food banks were handing out pounds upon pounds of food to those who lined up, while the Texas National Guard and volunteers were handing out essentials to whoever needed them. Unfortunately, no matter the attempts to improve the situation, the effects of this freezing weather continued to impact residents for days. Immunization distribution was also affected, as Covid-19 vaccines were unable to reach their destinations and get into the arms of Texas residents. Tragically, the severe winter weather in Texas and across the nation has been the cause for up to 58 deaths caused by hypothermia, house fires and more.
Editors: Ms. Brilliant and Cecilia Fiorindo
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