It is safe to say that Texas has not had its best of week of 2021. With extreme weather, power outages, and inaccessible water, Texas remains in its struggle to get back on its feet. However, many of these challenges have been reduced dramatically; since early today, “187,000 customers were still without power, but that figure was down dramatically from about 4.5 million on Tuesday and some 600,000 still in the dark on Thursday.” The biggest obstacle for Texas now, is getting its water back.
The deadly winter storm caused pipes to burst, freeze, water pressure to drop, and treatment plants to back up, which has left millions of Texans struggling to obtain clean water. The state has ordered about a quarter of the state to boil water, but many taps have been dry. People have shown much needed, but very unfortunate creativity in this time, melting snow or using pool water for flushing toilets, brushing teeth, and doing other basic tasks. Hospitals and firefighters are especially cautious during this time, as they deal with water shortages that could mean life or death for people.
Unpreparedness for natural disasters and unlikely weather is not, however, a new thing in the U.S. In the past decade, in fact, the United States has had five nearly identical cold snaps. Even Texas had a similar weather event back in 2011. The U.S. has also had its share of extreme heat in the past year, which made other infrastructural issues clear. Most scientists agree that these unprecedented weather circumstances are perhaps not as unprecedented as we make them out to be, and will likely become more common in the next few years. It is critical that for the well-being of all people, each state reevaluate its own vulnerabilities, and remain open and determined to fix infrastructure and policy that is not working as it should.
For news several times a week, make a habit of reading CIMA Law Group‘s blog.
CIMA Law Group Blog 