Many people twisted the sink handles and were unable to get anything out of the taps. Residents are not allowed to bathe, wash their hands or use the bathroom. In Harris County, which includes Houston, more than a million people had no water or were told to boil it first, and in Austin, the capital, residents were told to boil water due to a power failure in the largest sector city water. treatment facility.
Officials said restoring the water service to hospitals was the first priority.
“We never imagined a day when hospitals would have no water,” said Greg Meszaros, director of Austin Water, this week.
People are also struggling to find food.
Without water and after days without power, many Texans have lost perishable food and are struggling to get more.
Many supermarkets have been removed or closed, and food banks are distributing food as fast as they can.
More than 500 cars lined up on Friday morning at the headquarters of the Food Bank of San Antonio, which hoped to distribute 100,000 pounds of food and water over the weekend. At the site, volunteers and members of the Texas National Guard assessed bread pallets, peanut butter, cakes, potatoes, onions, watermelons and other fresh produce, preparing food for residents hard hit by blackouts.
Are schools open?
Texas’ two largest public school districts will be closed for several days after the storm and chaos that followed, officials said, and several other school buildings were damaged, delaying classroom and virtual classes.
The Houston Independent School District, the largest in the state, said it would be closed until Wednesday, when virtual learning will resume, followed by face-to-face learning on March 1. The Dallas Independent School District, the second largest in the state, will also close on Monday and Tuesday, while teams clean up water damage and repair pipes, the district said.