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Texas Freeze Reveals Frozen Policies
It’s not supposed to get this cold in Texas, but it did. Now what?
February 2021 has been a disaster for Texas. Winter storm Uri rolled through on February 11, bringing ice, sleet, snow and sub-freezing temperatures clear to the Gulf of Mexico. The freezing weather first caused a 100-car pileup in north Fort Worth that left six people dead, then it crippled power and water lines throughout most of the state. At this writing, some people have been without power, heat, and water for at least a week.
Some people have frozen to death in their homes.
And while Uri brought the arctic weather, something more nefarious caused the infrastructural damage and death — political malfeasance.
My family and I did not lose power during the winter siege, and we didn’t lose water until late in the week. By then the snow was thawing and we were able to catch snowmelt in buckets to use for flushing toilets. A couple of raids on Albertson’s and Home Depot got us enough drinking water to make it through the water stoppage. (Well, that remains to be seen.)
Supermarket shelves have been empty as stores faced broken water lines, power outages, and delivery delays.
