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A man has been found freezing to death in his recliner in Texas after at least 24 people have died from the winter storm.
Abilene Fire Chief Cande Flores revealed that three people had died in Abilene, Texas this week due to freezing temperatures, according to KTXS.
The official identified one of the deaths as a homeless man who died from exposure to the elements. He was in his 50s or 60s and was found outside on Monday morning.
Another man was found dead at his home after being left without power for three days. Resident Josh Casey told Facebook users the man “froze to death in his recliner” and his wife was “almost dead” next to him. She has since been taken to hospital.
“Please go see your neighbors,” said Mr. Casey.
The other victim found in Abilene, Mr Flores said, suffered from a health problem and weather prevented them from accessing the resources they needed.
Texas plunged into freezing temperatures on Sunday after a storm brought snow to the state.
At least 24 people have died from the winter storm, including a grandmother and three children who died in Sugar Land, Texas, after accidentally burning down their home in an attempt to keep warm.
Millions of people suffered power outages after the power grid was overloaded with overuse due to residents turning on heat. Some residents have been without power for four consecutive days and around 400,000 people still suffer from power outages, according to poweroutage.us.
The situation in Texas has sparked backlash, as state Republicans and Governor Greg Abbott come under fire for decisions they have made regarding energy use and the electricity grid.
Texas operates on an independent power grid instead of being federally regulated, which means it is unable to draw power from other grids during peak demand. So, the power surge instead led to millions of people without electricity and heating for long periods of time.
The state was the only one in the continental United States to operate on an independent grid.
Mr Abbott on Tuesday blamed the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) for the power outages that occurred statewide. He called ERCOT “anything but reliable over the past 48 hours” and issued an executive order to review the “preparations and decisions” made by the council ahead of the winter storm.
Speaking to The Associated Press, Dan Woodfin, senior director of system operations at ERCOT, said the current winter storm was “way beyond design parameters for a typical, if not extreme, Texas winter that you expect. normally.”
Weather is expected to improve in Texas over the next 24 hours, but officials have warned that residents could still tackle food and water shortages in the coming days. A full return to power was also not expected in the state until temperatures rose.
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