Thousands of snowplows are being collected in the United States, as much of the central and eastern parts of the country are affected by snow and ice.
The Toro Company warned on Thursday that approximately 6,700 of its “Power Max Snowthrowers” pose an amputation risk to consumers due to a problem that causes the machine’s worm, or blade, to not disengage after a lever control is released.
“Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled Toro Power Max Snowthrower and contact an authorized Toro dealer for a free repair,” says a recall notice on the company’s website. The machines exactly affected were the model year 2021 of the company Toro Power Max 826 OHAE Snowthrowers with model number 37802.
Toro manufactures the machines in Juarez, Mexico. The recall notice occurs when at least 20 people have died as a result of freezing conditions across Texas and much of the southern and midwestern United States, leaving millions without power.
Texas officials blamed the frozen machines at the state’s natural gas plants for the outages, with 70 to 80 percent of the state’s plants shut down on Tuesday morning. The state also depends on wind energy for a fraction of its energy, which officials said was also damaged by the storm.
State officials have struggled to clear even the state’s main highways, as images of pedestrians walking through thick snow in the middle of an interstate highway have surfaced on social media.
Don’t walk on the road. It’s very dangerous. Drivers can lose control and hit you. #ATXtraffic #txdotwx pic.twitter.com/3XDSWCd0XM
– TxDOT Austin (@TxDOTAustin) February 16, 2021