Texas was brought an all-time record of snowfall as ten days in a row were spent in below-freezing temperatures. Over just a week, the record-breaking winter storm left millions in Texas and a few other southern states with broken pipes, facing power outages, without clean, running water, reduced access to COVID-19 vaccines, and more.

The first crisis that Texans had to face was the power grid failure. According to Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials, the water supply in a power plant near the Gulf of Mexico froze, causing two pumps to fail. Later, other plants began to face the same issue. Both wind turbines and natural gas pipelines froze as well. This had led some Texans to be without light or heat for almost 72 hours. Once power was restored, people still faced the aftermath, which included pipes that had bursted and unclean water.

Some areas, despite not being hit as hard by the storm, still faced a few minor issues. According to a source who prefers to remain anonymous, “Thankfully, we have been facing a few on and off days of snow for the past week since we weren’t hit as hard. Today, we haven’t had a power outage, but they did turn off our water. Thankfully, no pipes broke or anything too serious, so we’re doing okay!”

Although power had been restored by Saturday, thousands of people in southern states were still left without electricity (The New York Times). As for water, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality stated that millions of people are still without running water or are being told to boil their tap water as water systems are still being disrupted.

Texans not only had to face power outages and no running water but also delayed delivery of COVID-19 vaccines. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the FedEx facility in Memphis and the UPS facility in Louisville, both major vaccine shipping hubs, experienced delays in vaccine shipments and deliveries due to the extreme weather conditions. Closed roads and unsafe conditions also caused a food shortage in some stores.

In response to the effects of the snowstorm, President Biden has signed “a major disaster declaration, which would enable the government to provide more aid to Texas” (The New York Times). As Texas is not accustomed to these conditions, Aaric Duong (11) shares “I hope they recover quickly from the storm. Not only are they facing conditions that they aren’t used to, but they don’t have proper supplies to face them.”