As if things couldn’t become more dire in the Lone Star State, Texas is now contending with a water shortage in addition to the rolling blackouts and freezing temperatures that have gripped the state since late last week. Days of power outages and extremely low temperatures have coalesced into a crisis, as water pipes around the state have frozen and burst. Many residents have reported their homes have flooded due to burst pipes, and then have had the water freeze overnight, causing extensive damage.
Many parts of Texas, including Austin, are now under book water notices. For many, they have few ways to boil water from the tap, as their power remains out. The water shortage in the state has been exacerbated by scalpers marking up bottled water in an attempt to make a quick buck off of others’ misery.
States Scramble to Restore Power Grid
As millions of people shiver in their homes without power, states in the Midwest have scrambled to get the power grid back online. Many in Texas have pointed the finger at their state government, blaming their leaders for underinvesting in infrastructure and leaving citizens to fend for themselves in the midst of a disaster.
Tim Boyd, the mayor of Colorado City, resigned this week after posting a rant to Facebook where he accused the residents of his town of being lazy and complaining about the snowstorm. Boyd’s rant went viral, with many pointing to Boyd’s attitude as being emblematic of the larger issues with Texas’ “by your own bootstraps” mentality that led them into this dark winter crisis.
More Snow Coming
Even as pipes keep bursting and the power grid stays offline for millions, another winter storm is forecast to hit the Midwest Friday. Piling even more snow and freezing temperatures on the beleaguered region, this storm is expected to be the parting shot in a withering winter salvo. Residents of Southern states who are unaccustomed to such extreme winter weather and low temperatures have struggled to manage in the storms, as they have little or no experience with such high snowfall totals.
Even as the next storm is brewing, many are already calling on Texas to begin investing in a more robust power grid to prevent future disasters like this. One of the most frustrating elements of this disaster is that it is hard to predict whether this will remain a freak, one-off incident or if Texans can expect such temperatures annually going forward.
