During the past week the nation has watched the state of Texas recover from a devastating winter storm as it residents struggled with power outages, poor water pressure and food shortages, forcing millions of people to do everything they can to survive.
“My family lost power Sunday [Feb. 14] night and didn’t get it back until Thursday,” said Erika Johnson, Miss FAMU and a native of the Dallas area. “Our water isn’t tainted so I’m glad about that. My mom chose to go to a hotel because of the conditions. All of the stores are empty which has made it difficult to find necessities. I still have friends and family who don’t have power and it has been a week today.”
In the Lone Star State many of the residents have been alone without power for more five days.
“Right now I’m currently in Florida so I can’t personally speak on everything that’s going on in Texas,” said Jeremiah McCollum, a star pitcher for the FAMU baseball team and a Houston native. “I can say that my family just regained power but were without it for four days. Our home was just built in the last two years so I never would expect my family to be without power for so many days. I spoke to a friend who attends Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas along the Texas-Louisiana border. Due to the inclement weather, all of her pipes froze to where she had to bathe using a hot plate to heat up water. My prayers go out to my home state of Texas.”
“My family has had two other families stay in our home because they have been without power for three days,” said Carrington Whigham, SGA vice president and a Dallas native. “They couldn’t take it any more so we have been housing three families under one roof. It has just been hard to maintain necessities like toilet paper because the journey to the store has become dangerous. Everyone is safe so we’re fortunate to have everything we need at this time.”
With Texas enduring a snow storm in February, climate change has been hot topic. According to a study conducted by Katherine Hayhoe, a scientist at Texas Tech University, the arctic is creating more severe polar vortex events. Electric Reliability Council Of Texas (EROCOT) claims this storm to be unpredicted in some ways
Because the storm was so devastating, President Joe Biden has declared a national emergency. Even with residents now being eligible for federal aid, many have had a hard time finding food, shelter and warmth. If you’d like to help those in need, visit Feeding Texas’s website for donations.