Texas’ Recent Snowstorm Disasters
By: Julia Zhou
Lately, it’s become apparent that temperatures are dropping all over the world; here in New Jersey, we’ve been confined to our homes because of heavy snowstorms. However, shockingly, Texas is suffering from even greater storms plaguing its residents, these enormous and lethal. Other Southern states have also been affected as largely.
All over Texas, power plants were paused suddenly when frigid temperatures froze their supplies of natural gases. Even with functioning gases providing energy, pipes closed up with ice and slush, clogging the channels and hence ceasing all heat and electricity consumption temporarily. At such times like those, heat was at high demand, which only further strained the power plants. Other types of power plants were also affected, like with wind turbines frozen to their positions.
These conditions rendered citizens completely helpless, even ending the lives of some. Because of lack of heat, some contracted hypothermia. Less natural causes second-handedly affected by the storms like fires and road accidents were common; some attempted to warm up in their cars and were poisoned by the gas emitted (this is a common cause of death, by the way. It’s deadly to sit in a car in an enclosed space with the engine running, as it emits carbon monoxide). Additionally, because of the halted movement in hospitals, patients declined.
Plus, frozen pipes cut off water to some, bringing thirst to entire households. Otherwise, sewage or rust came off with it, making the water unfit or extremely hazardous to drink. To make the water suitable for drinking, water purification tablets or having it boiled was necessary, but the latter was virtually impossible due to power outages.
Since the snowstorms hit so heavily, snow coated the streets of Texas and made travel difficult. Transportation was not recommended, except vaccination and food deliveries were essential, and were hampered or canceled by the ice on the roads. Grocery stores are closed. Imagine having to last a week on a meager amount of meals: that’s how dire the situation is.
Energy costs have risen for Texans due to the rarity of electricity and heat in power plants.
President Joe Biden has declared Texas and other states in a state of emergency, so the Texans can expect immediate government action eventually.
Sources: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/20/us/texas-winter-storm-explainer.html