Texas Disaster: Winter Storm, Blackouts, Scammers and Angry Victims

  • AUTHOR: admin
  • POSTED ON: February 17, 2021

The residents of Texas are scared and stuck in a terrible dilemma as they try to deal with the dangerously cold temperature taking over the horizons. Put in a state of emergency, they’ve been warned to stay inside in a heat-less home and not venture into the treacherous highways of the state.




Today marks the second day of the frightening blackouts – for many, the power was already cut 24 hours ago. The warnings— that were hugely publicized by the government over the weekend— have taken an ugly turn and are now shaped into open-ended queries and triggering phone calls to loved ones. There’s also a spike in last-minute hotel bookings.


The scope of the crisis that stands in front of the state – all thanks to winter storm Shirley – is frightening to another level, as it doesn’t have the facilities and resources need to combat the giant monster. Nevertheless, the National Guard has been deployed to rescue the elderly and place them into warming shelters. The air travel from and to Houston has been put on halt indefinitely. In addition, the Covid-19 vaccination efforts that were made by the government have also been interrupted. Before the power cut, the city had utilized more than 8,000 vaccines.


The residents of Dallas were initially told that the power will be out for approximately 2 hours – which seemed manageable at the time – but it’s still not back and the residents are not given a straightforward time as to when they can expect it. They are completely confused and unsure about the official on-goings.


Stay tuned to Hayvine to know more about Texas disaster unemployment and Texas Disaster declarations.


Last week, government officials highlighted the risks of driving on the icy roads of Texas interstate. Naturally, people didn’t listen and six accidents happened,resulting in everyone involved losing their lives. On Monday, Houston saw the clouds sent down snow, which melted on streets and highways relentlessly. At the time, the officials claimed that everything will be under control as soon as the sun sets. However, when Houston woke up, it saw that the roadways were jammed with ice and transportation became impossible.


Several people were faced with a dilemma: should they choose to stay at home and freeze to death with no power supply, or drive off to their relatives’ homes where the power was intact.




The only way people have managed to charge their phones is via the car – not a sustainable option, as this also requires them to be out in the cold. People are complaining that they should’ve been given an advanced warning, which could’ve allowed them time to prepare for safety precautions.


On Tuesday, Dallas was freezing at 3 degree Fahrenheit, whereas Houston faced 14 degrees. The temperatures dropped in San Antonio and Austin to 9 degrees.


The wind in Houston is not slowing down and is making the temperature feel colder than it actually is. Major cities in Texas had opened up warming shelters before the storm hit the state, but in Houston, those facilities came burning down rather quickly. Those who can afford are not finding shelter from the cold in hotels.

 

"All morning today we've had back to back-to-back -- about 10 calls an hour -- with inquiries for rooms and availability." – said Erica Gonzalez, who is a general manager at a Best Western near downtown Houston.


However, there are several places where people have got it worse without having access to Fema Texas phone number. They’ve already experienced three black outs and were forced to rely on gas-burning fireplace that maintained the temperature of the rooms. People are craving for coffee that could potentially keep them warm – but it’s not on the list of their priorities, as they’re literally fighting a storm at the moment.


For several years now people have argued that the electricity system of Texas is up for a disaster, and that one day, it will experience a major systemic failure – and it has. In the 90s, the state didn’t pay the power producers to maintain reserves and the officials at the time had discarded the usual practice all across the US, in which it offers a buffer supply of at least 15 percent that goes beyond the needs of a typical day. They chose not to be careful and decided against the welfare of human needs.


A research in Portland has warned the officials about a potential catastrophe, as it was aware that the state lacked backup required during extreme weather conditions. Several officials debated this outcome, and now, nobody is a winner – only the residents suffer.


And you know what’s worse? This state of crisis has not stopped people from scamming the innocent residents of Texas. During the black out, when the residents were struggling with the weather and trying to stay warm, scammers were on the hunt.


The Electric Reliability Council of Texas then warned the followers that several social media scanners were pretending to be electricity workers, only to ask people regarding their private account details and pretending to be from the Texas Disaster relief fund 2021 during Texas state of disaster.


The tweet said: “Don’t do it! We don’t need any of your to get your power back on — we are working as fast as we possibly can.”


Let’s just say that no matter what happens, people find loopholes in the system and only the innocent residents suffer.


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What do you have to say about the winter storm and angry victims of Texas? It’s always tough to witness a freezing winter storm – and this time it has only bought blackouts, scammers, and traffic accidents to Texas!

 

Updated February 17, 2021
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