Think Katrina!
Absolute Catastrophe!
I am not kidding .
12 million currently have lost water or must boil water.
Hospitals have no water. This is true for 2 in Austin, more have limited water flow.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/winter-storms-cause-dire-water-outages-at-austin-hospitals
Water pipes are breaking right and left. In homes and outside of homes. Breaking as in gushing none stop and no easy way to stop the flow. People are bailing water. Help iis NOT on the way.
3 Million residences are still without power. . In below freezing weather. More than 4 million last night. More freezing temps expected tomorrow, snow too in some places.
Dairy plants have no power so farmers are dumping 8 millions of gallons of milk a day.
The food chain supply is in dire straights. Texans running low on food are finding empty grocery store shelves. Food pantries are running out of supplies. And the freeze has wiped out substantial portions of the state's citrus and vegetable crops. Fruit and vegetable crops in the Rio Grande Valley have frozen over in what The Produce News described as a “Valentine’s Day produce massacre.” School districts from Forth Worth to Houston have halted meal distributions to students for the next several days, a
https://www.texastribune.org/2021/02/17/texas-food-supply-power-outage/
This isn't a city problem, it is effecting MOST of the state and the state is huge.
Airports are closed.
Vaccines can't get transported through the state and other states) to reach the west coast states. My parents were supposed to get their second dose in Los Angeles today and all were cancel at their location. Many LA locations. Same with Arizona. I would assume this is true for other states.
With all of the water flooding from burst pipes, I would expect a major housing crisis. Hotels are at full capacity. Even across the boarder into Mexico as was reported On Don Lemon tonight (CNN).
Gas stations are running out of gas.( If they even have power) In Texas of all places.
Don't get me started on the mayor of Colorado City Texas.
Never have I ever...thank goodness he resigned.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tim-boyd-mayor-colorado-city-texas-resigns-power-outages/
So, not only do we all need to continue to send a huge amount of light and love to those suffering and those who will continue to suffer, we really need to think about Biden.
Why Biden?
Because if he is not really careful, this willl be his Katrina. He has been pretty silent (which is sorta ok because Gov. Abbott has been working very hard on digging his own grave) but he really needs to figure out how to walk this minefield. And it is a HUGE political minefield with peoples lives at stake.
Haven't heard much about FEMA except they are sending 60 generators Texas asked for. 60 will barely over hospitals and water plants. Do we even have a Biden FEMA person in charge yet?
We really need Biden to figure out how not to be seen and act as Bush during Katrina.
Or worse. He needs to be seen as positively responding to this crisis and while walking political the minefield that will be the Texas GOP.
Lots of strength, love and compassion to Biden and Harris. The same for the people suffering. ❤️
I'm not completely in the loop, but is it 'only' Austin that doesn't have electricity available or rural areas as well?
At last count, 3 million were estimated to currently be out of power across the state. 7 million are under a boil water order. Nearly 1 million in Austin alone.
That is quite an ordeal! However, it seems like the city might be on its feet faster than the countryside? Easier to fix one spot than things dotted out over swats of land? Forgive me if I'm ignorant here.
You are absolutely right. I don't think Biden will let them suffer, as a matter of fact he already responded. We know he's not the type to be spiteful either (unlike the GOP and former occupant of the White House, regardless of the fact that the Texas GOP have been, and does anyone remember Rick Perry's rally and they all chanted "let them die" when they spoke about Obama care?) Thank God and the Universe we have a caring leader in Biden. We will see what unfolds but here are some links on what's been done so far:
I also wanted to include a link of information on how anyone you know can help those in Texas now:
https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/17/us/texas-winter-storm-how-to-help-iyw-trnd/index.html
I'm also praying that the hearts and minds of Texans are opened to reveal how the Corporate Power greed and their GOP have been lying to them. Not shoring up their power grids, not protecting their water supply and denying climate change. Not the way I would have wanted to see people finally realize these things. I pray for their safety, health, warmth and awakening. This is also a problem throughout our country and I pray climate change gets tackled soon - alongside covid etc.
@moonbeam I don't live in Texas but I do live in a state that has common weather-related power outages. It's true that electricity is usually restored to the cities first. The utilities will prioritize fixing the lines and stations that serve the most people, which is as it should be -- they use their resources to do the most good for the most people first. If you're out in the country and a tree falls on your line--- a line that serves only your house--- you're going to be last priority.
But on the other side, rural people are generally more well-prepared than those in the city. They're more likely to possess generators, food stockpiles, freezers, wood stoves and fireplaces, etc. So it kind of evens out the impact a little.
That said, I agree with others that Biden has got to to jump in and send out the National Guard and whatever other resources he can muster ASAP. Unlike northern states, Texas is totally unprepared for this magnitude of winter storm.
So true. When the Blizzard of 1993 came through Tennessee, it was eight days before electricity was restored to our home.
We survived because our house (built in 1920) had a wood-burning stove that doubled as our cooking stove. We actually had soup, pancakes, and other luxuries that others were denied during that time. Also, we had a fireplace that was connected to natural gas, which didn't need electricity.
That is not to say we didn't suffer. All of our food in the freezer went bad, and we were struggling to keep my sister's insulin at the right temperature range so it would stay effective. Also, many fish in our pond froze, and some of our beloved peach trees died.
Still, Texas has it worse right now. Mostly because their Republican leaders are trying to blame the entire situation of Democrats (yes, I heard the rant about how the wind turbines froze, but considering how it accounts for such a small portion of the population, I fail to see how they can blame Democrats for the outage.
@triciact will the Republican public in Texas see the light though? The hatred of democrats and anything 'liberal' runs deep. I've seen the documentaries about the lovely white suburbs. Places that had/have great schools and perfect '50s neighborhoods' that turn out to be racist Valhallas where the N word and lynching are considered fun words.
I hope so very much that people will open their eyes. Just as I hope that everybody will be okay. However, I think I can speak for a large part of Europe that we're all still in shock at how much racism and hatred is prevalent in the States. I don't think many realized until 45 skittered out from under his rock and was elected.
That said, again, I hope and pray for them all. I hope rural folks are prepared well enough and the city dwellers will get their utilities back fast. I especially worry about the poor. They will have it rough since housing is usually already bad for them. Who will help these people?
Sending light to Biden. May his empathy translate to solutions. ❤️
I live in Texas and it's simply infuriating and frustrating just how many people are so brainwashed by fox news propaganda. I'm appalled that in the middle of the middle of a crisis, tv networks have the gall to blame, inaccurately, the green new deal and wind turbines for the cluster**** that is the Texas electrical grid. simply unbelievable. Green energy accounts for about 10 to 15% of all texas energy. I'm seriously sick of all this propaganda, it needs to be illegal.
We are here today, most of us, without power and water because of corporate greed that begun ins 1930's and continues to build onto today. The Texas electrical grid was created in the 30s to avoid federal oversight and maximize the profit of a rich few. This toxic culture, that brands the federal gov with such distrust and idolizes the " do it alone" attitude over helping one another or seeking help must end, we really cannot go on believing that seeking help is a handout.
Hopefully, this crisis that we are in today serves as a stark reminder of what conservatism really is and what it has evolved to in the politics of today; one that has allowed conservative Ted Cruz to abandon his constituents woes and travel abroad with his family, and will do so without repercussions.
rant over.