[ad_1]
Long lines form outside Texas grocery store amid winter storm power outages
A long line formed outside a supermarket in Austin, Texas on Tuesday, February 16, after storms caused widespread blackouts statewide.
AUSTIN, Texas – After a deadly winter weather blast that overwhelmed the power grid and left millions of Texans without power, state hospitals are also facing the added stress of water shortages, crowded and even forced emergency rooms. evacuate patients.
Record temperatures have damaged infrastructure and pipelines, seriously jeopardizing drinking water systems in Lone Star State. Authorities in Texas have ordered 7 million people – a quarter of the population of the nation’s second largest state – to boil tap water before drinking it.
Some hospitals, already grappling with COVID-19 patients and vaccine distribution, were also affected by the winter storm’s devastation on power grids and utilities. In Austin, hospitals faced loss of water pressure and heat.
St. David’s South Austin Medical Center said Wednesday evening it had lost water pressure in the city of Austin. As the water supplied the facility’s boiler, the hospital was also losing heat.
Hospital officials were working to evacuate some patients to other facilities in the area and said they were handing out bottles and jugs of water to patients and employees. Officials added they were working with the city to secure portable toilets.
“As this is a statewide emergency that is also affecting other hospitals in the Austin area, no hospital currently has the capacity to accept transportation of a large number of patients, ”said David Huffstutler, CEO of South Austin Medical Center in St. David’s. .
In southwest Austin, officials at Ascension Seton Southwest Hospital said they too were facing intermittent water pressure issues, the Austin American-Statesman reported. The hospital was reprogramming elective surgeries to preserve bed capacity and staff accordingly.
In Houston Methodist, two of its community hospitals had no running water but were still treating patients, with most surgeries and elective procedures canceled Thursday and possibly Friday, spokeswoman Gale Smith told the Associated Press.
Emergency rooms were crowded “because patients couldn’t meet their medical needs at home without electricity,” Smith said. She added that pipes had burst at Methodist hospitals but were being repaired as they went.
An ambulance is pictured outside St. David’s South Austin Medical Center in Austin, Texas. (Photo credit: FOX 7 Austin)
The main campus of the Texas Children’s Hospital at Texas Medical Center and another site had low water pressure, but the system was adequately staffed and patients had sufficient water and “were safe and comfortable.” , said spokeswoman Jenn Jacome.
FEMA has sent generators to support water treatment plants, hospitals and nursing homes in Texas, along with thousands of blankets and ready meals, officials said.
In an “urgent call to action,” the Texas Restaurant Association said state hospitals have “a serious need for food for their staff and patients” and said it was working to coordinate donations from food.
As of Tuesday, more than 4.4 million Texans were without power. The number fluctuated throughout the week, with blame shifting between the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the state government and utility companies. Less than half a million homes were still without power on Thursday afternoon, the PowerOutage utility tracker reported.
Shopping malls stay lit against blackout near Houston
A winter storm caused widespread residential blackouts in Houston, Texas on Tuesday, February 16, while some areas remained lit, causing confusion among residents.
Some have lost electricity due to weather conditions, while others have suffered a rotating outage initiated by ERCOT, which manages the flow of electrical energy to more than 26 million customers.
RELATED: Without Electricity for 4 Days, Many Residents Warm Up With Frequent Trips to Outside Vehicles
While power was slowly restored to more Texans, many people still lacked clean drinking water. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said he expects residents of the nation’s fourth largest city to boil tap water before drinking it until Sunday or Monday.
Austin Water Director Greg Meszaros on Thursday urged residents to conserve water in the event of a shortage. He estimated that “tens of thousands” of people were without water and said residents should contact their friends and neighbors until the city can set up water distribution centers.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott urged residents this week to shut off water to their homes, if possible, to avoid more broken pipes and to keep pressure on municipal systems.
RELATED: Houstonians Should Prepare To Boil Water Over The Weekend
The weather also disrupted water supply systems in several other cities, including New Orleans and Shreveport, Louisiana, where fire trucks delivered water to hospitals and bottled water for them. patients and staff, local station KSLA-TV reported.
This story was reported from Cincinnati. The Associated Press contributed.
[ad_2]
Source link