Cold snap and power outages batter Texas

With the bouts of cold snap and heavy snow from the winter storm sweeping across the United States, the residents of southern Texas are struggling for survival in the face of the double whammy of power outrage and blistering cold.

According to NBC, more than three million Texans were not able to use electricity on Wednesday. George Hendricks, a 65-year-old man from Austin who has been burrowing under blankets in his living room, said “It’s like a bad movie.” Timothy Walsh, who is living in Tarrant County with his wife and a seven-year-old son, has been warming their hands with candles in a freezing house for three days now since the power outage. They’ve been subsisting on beef jerky, cookies and water as they cannot cook anything. Kimberly Hampton from Irving, Texas, says her kids are all bundled up in three layers of clothes, and they have to hug each other to keep warm.

Even water supplies were cut off in some cities. With water treatment plants losing power and water pipes bursting, the residents of San Antonio and Houston were advised to find water and drink it after boiling. Melt snow was used to flush toilets at nursing homes and college facilities.

The New York Times reported Wednesday that the latest cold snap has taken the lives of at least 31 people across eight states including Texas. The National Weather Service of the U.S. forecast that the southern parts of America will continue to experience snow and steely wind this week.


Jong-Yeob JO jjj@donga.com