HOUSTON (AP) – Hospitals across the South battled water shortages on Sunday after a devastating winter storm, while the region continued its recovery efforts and the weather offered a mild respite – temperatures reaching the mid-to-late 60.
At the height of last week’s storm, hospitals struggled to care for patients amid record cold temperatures, snow and ice that hit parts of the country most accustomed to spending the winter in light jackets and short sleeves. The ice blast broke water pipes, cut power to millions of utility customers and contributed to at least 76 deaths – half of which occurred in Texas. At least seven people died in Tennessee and four in Portland, Oregon.
A rural hospital in Anahuac, Texas, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) east of Houston, lost water and energy.
William Kiefer, CEO of Chambers Health, which runs the hospital along with two clinics and a wellness center, said the facilities used reserve generators and water from a 275-gallon storage tank. They filled it three times using water from a swimming pool at the wellness center.
When temperatures were high last Monday, a woman about to give birth entered the hospital after being unable to get through the ice and snow to her hospital in the Houston suburb. The emergency team delivered safely, said Kiefer.
“It would have taken two more hours to arrive (at the Houston suburban hospital) if our facility had not been there,” he said. “We can probably assume that she would have the baby in her car and in the snow. It is not a good situation. “
The water was restored on Thursday and operations returned to normal on Sunday, he said. The healthcare system plans to install more sophisticated backup systems, he said.
Houston Methodist Hospital spokeswoman Gale Smith said the water had been restored at two community hospitals in the system, which was handling a flow of dialysis patients after the closure of their local centers, she added.
After temperatures dropped to 40 degrees below normal last week, the forecast for the Houston area pointed to a high of 65 degrees (18 degrees Celsius) on Sunday. The city suspended its boiling water warning on Sunday afternoon.
Some 30,000 Texans were still without power due to cut power lines and other equipment failures. Governor Greg Abbott said during a news conference that he expects all service to be restored on Sunday or Monday night.
Abbott also said he was concerned about the threat of huge electricity bills after wholesale energy prices soared while power plants were shut down. He said it would be the “top priority” for the legislature and promised not to end the legislative session until legislators ensured that the state’s power grid was adapted to deal with extreme winter and summer.
Nearly 230,000 customers across the South were still without power on Sunday, according to PowerOutage.us, a website that tracks power outages. Other major blackouts occurred in Mississippi, West Virginia, Kentucky and Oregon.
Memphis, Tennessee, saw 25 inches of snow last week. Memphis, Light, Gas & Water issued a boiling water statement on Thursday with concern that low water pressure caused by problems at aging pumping stations and mains water ruptures could lead to contamination. The warning was still in effect on Sunday; public service officials said they did not know when they could withdraw it.
About 260,000 homes and businesses were consulted. Hospitals and nursing homes were forced to switch to bottled water. The Tennessee National Guard was supplying water to St. Francis Hospital.
The nearby Baptist Memorial Hospital has seen some of St. Francis’ patients, particularly those in need of dialysis, said Dr. Jeff Wright, a pulmonary and intensive care physician at Baptist. This hospital has a water purification system for dialysis and water reserves for tasks such as cooking and bathing patients, he said.
“We have water jugs that were already stored and ready to roll on the first day,” said Wright.
Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare also reported problems at some of his facilities in the Memphis area due to water pressure problems and the boil warning. The system uses tank trucks to increase water pressure and has the help of facilities that have not been affected.
City officials plan to distribute water bottles in several locations on Sunday. Grocery stores struggled to keep the shelves stocked with bottled water. Many restaurants remained closed.
In Washington, the White House said about a third of the doses of the COVID-19 vaccine delayed by the storm were delivered over the weekend.
Time has created an accumulation of about 6 million doses, as power cuts have closed some vaccination centers and stranded vaccines in shipping centers. White House press secretary Jen Psaki told ABC’s “This Week” program that about 2 million of those doses have been sold.
President Joe Biden is looking forward to visiting Texas, which has been particularly affected by the weather, Psaki said. Biden hopes to travel to the state this week, but “does not want to take resources” from the response, she said. Biden declared a major disaster in Texas on Saturday.
“He is… Very aware of the fact that it is not a light footprint for a president to travel to a disaster area.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner told CBS’s “Face the Nation” program that Biden can come anytime.
“We would certainly welcome you,” said Turner.
Texan MP Michael McCaul told CNN’s “State of the Union” that federal disaster relief can be used to repair burst pipes and floods, and to help Texans suffer from skyrocketing energy bills.
McCaul also criticized fellow Republican Senator Ted Cruz’s decision to take his family on vacation in the midst of the crisis.
“When a crisis hits my state, I’m there,” said McCaul. “I am not going on vacation. I know that Mr. Cruz called it a mistake, and he confessed it. But I think it was a big mistake. “
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Mattise reported from Nashville, Tennessee. Sainz reported in Memphis, Tennessee. Associated Press writers Hope Yen in Austin, Texas and Zeke Miller in Washington contributed to this report.