On Feb. 12, a light, freezing drizzle began to fall on various counties throughout the state of Texas. As the week progressed that drizzle would turn into one of the coldest and snowiest weeks in Texas in decades. Texas governor Greg Abbot issued a disaster declaration in all 254 counties after roads became unsafe and temperatures continued to drop. By Feb. 15, the state’s average temperature was only 11.8 degrees and much colder in certain counties. This left many families and towns unprepared to handle this rare cold front. Some Andrews students have family in Texas who were subjected to these harsh conditions.
As temperatures dropped, Texas’s power plants were unprepared, leading to power outages and loss of heat for many homes and businesses. Natural gas pipelines froze, preventing the transport of gas, leading to shortages at power plants needing the gas to produce electricity. Ultimately, this left four million Texans without power during that week. People were not only left without power and ways to heat their homes, but also dealt with frozen and burst pipes, flooding, and food shortages. Frozen and burst pipes left many families without water for drinking, bathing, and the ability to use toilets. In total, over 14 million people lacked access to clean water. To prevent the consumption of contaminated water, the CDC advocated for individuals to boil their water. Additionally, the icy and snow covered roads made it difficult for shipments to reach their destinations, leaving many stores empty and food scarce.
Throughout the week families had to find creative ways to stay warm and cover their basic needs. The families of several Andrews students were impacted during this difficult week. Grecia Castillo (junior, spanish, psychology) said that some of her relatives endured the freezing temperatures without electricity. Ms. Castillo explained, “My family had never experienced below zero weather before, and we were definitely not prepared as a state. Some of the ways they dealt with the snow storm was through lots of cuddling and sleeping together with lots of layers, cooking on backpacking stoves, and using an old backup generator. They were without electricity and running water for 43 hours.”
Another Andrews student, Elizabeth Cisneros (junior, speech language pathology), also shared her family’s experience. Ms. Cisneros stated, “It is a blessing to say that my family made it through without any pipe or heater issues, but that was not the same for many people including some of my relatives and family friends. Some of them had pipes burst and water leaking throughout their home causing a lot of chaos and many things that will need repaired. On top of that they went days without electricity just having to do their best to stay warm and healthy.”
Jose Silva (sophomore, graphic design) from Houston, Texas, said that his family was able to share generators with those in need. He explained, “My parent’s power was cut off for about a day and a half, and my grandparents who live outside the city went without power for over 3 days. Fortunately, my dad has power generators that provided enough power for their basic needs. Our next door neighbors had a baby, so my dad shared generators with them as well.”
As Texas’s power grid begins to get back online and temperatures continue to rise, people in the state of Texas are still facing difficulties in recovering from this storm. Many suggest that this snow storm could be one of the costliest disasters in state history, reaching over $125 billion in damage. As a result, U.S. president Joe Biden visited Houston on Feb. 26, where he met with state officials, surveyed the damage, and made plans for the state’s recovery. Currently, local food banks and organizations continue to provide relief for the people of Texas. President Biden stated that he is, “Ready to mobilize other federal agencies to bring additional support to the people of Texas and ensure that any critical needs are met.” While the road to recovery may be long, the goodwill that businesses and individuals are showing one another during this hard time reveals the power of human resiliency and community in order to overcome challenging times.
Works Cited
Bogel-Burroughs, Nicholas. “Texas Winter Storm: What to Know.” nytimes.com, The New York Times, 20
February 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/20/us/texas-winter-storm-explainer.html. Accessed 28
February 2021.
Freedman, Andrew. “Central States’ Arctic plunge: The historic cold snap and snow by the numbers.”
washingtonpost.com, The Washington Post, 24 February 2021,
https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2021/02/24/texas-winter-storm-temperature-
records/?arc404=true, Accessed 28 February 2021.
Salinas, Rebecca. “Timeline: How the historic winter storm, Texas blackout cold-stunned the San Antonio area.”
KSAT.com, 25 February 2021, https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2021/02/25/timeline-how-the-historic-winter-
storm-texas-blackout-cold-stunned-the-san-antonio-area/. Accessed 28 February 2021.
Thomas, Ken. “Biden Declares Texas Winter Storm a Major Disaster.” wsj.com, The Wall Street Journal, 20 February
2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-issues-major-disaster-declaration-for-texas-winter-storm-
11613834499. Accessed 28 February 2021.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.