Millions of people are without power because Texas is facing one of the worst storms in its history, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo told CNBC’s “The News with Shepard Smith.”
“We’re basically seeing the winter version of Hurricane Harvey,” Hidalgo said. “This is an incredibly tragic situation”
More than a dozen people in Texas have died as a result of exposure to elements and several have died due to carbon monoxide poisoning, Hidalgo said. She said people were trying to get heat from their cars into their garages due to power outages, which she said contributed to the more than 300 calls about carbon monoxide poisoning the country received.
According to reports, more than four million Texas residents do not have power after a historic snowfall and single-digit temperatures. Freezing temperatures increased the demand for electricity, which along with the temperatures caused the state’s power grid to collapse and caused widespread power outages. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has already called for an investigation by the Texas Electric Reliability Council, which operates the state’s power grid.
Authorities are telling citizens to boil their water because there are also likely to be possible major water outages. The state expects continued icy temperatures over the next few days.
That collapse sparked increasing outrage and demands from Texas citizens. Hidalgo said provinces have not yet received responses from government officials on when residents can expect power.
“The challenge is that I can not tell my residents that the power is going to come back soon because the state agency does not have a clear plan on when exactly they will have that generation – that production,” Hidalgo said. power recovery. “A lot of this is a man-made disaster because of the state agency.”
Weather conditions during the winter caused several states, including Texas, to close the vaccination sites.