Power was restored on Thursday to some homes and businesses in Texas after a deadly winter storm that was heading east after killing at least three dozen people.
But many people remained without drinking water and nearly half a million homes were still without electricity.
The storms have also left more than 320,000 homes and businesses without power in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Some 70,000 power outages persisted after an ice storm in eastern Kentucky, while nearly 67,000 were left without electricity in West Virginia.
Leovardo Perez, on the right, fills a water jar using a hose from a tap in a public park on Thursday, February 18, 2021, in Houston. (Associated Press)
Snow and ice were transferred to the Appalachians, northern Maryland and southern Pennsylvania, and later the northeast. Consecutive storms left 15 inches of snow in Little Rock, Arkansas.
More than three dozen people died while trying to stay warm. A family in the Houston area died of carbon monoxide when the car stopped in the garage. A woman and her three grandchildren died in a fire that, according to authorities, may have been caused by a fireplace they used.
MAIN WINTER STORM HITS EASTERN USA AS PERSISTIMES OF POWER IN TEXAS, SOUTHERN STATES
At around noon on Thursday, just under 500,000 homes and businesses remained without power, compared with about 3 million on Wednesday. The remaining outages were largely climate-related, rather than forced blackouts that began on Monday to stabilize the grid, said the state grid manager, the Texas Electric Reliability Council (ERCOT).
“We will continue to work 24 hours a day until each customer has their power turned back on,” said Dan Woodfin, senior director of system operations at ERCOT.
Woodfin warned that limited blackouts could return if demand for electricity increases, as people recover energy and heat.
The climate has damaged drinking water systems. Authorities ordered 7 million people to boil tap water before drinking it, due to record low temperatures that damaged infrastructure and pipes.
FRIGID WEATHER SCRAPS MORE SPORT EVENTS IN TEXAS, OKLAHOMA
The water pressure dropped after the lines froze and many people left the taps dripping to prevent them from freezing. Governor Greg Abbott urged residents to close the doors of their homes, if possible, to prevent further broken pipes and preserve pressure on municipal systems. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said he expected residents to have to boil tap water before drinking it until Sunday or Monday.
Two of the Houston Methodist community hospitals had no running water, but still treated patients, with most surgeries and non-emergency procedures canceled on Thursday and possibly Friday, and burst pipes were repaired as they happened, said spokeswoman Gale Smith.
The emergency rooms were packed “due to patients being unable to meet their medical needs at home without electricity,” said Smith.
The Texas Children’s Hospital main campus at Texas Medical Center and elsewhere had low water pressure, but the system had adequate staff and patients had enough water and “are safe and comfortable,” said spokeswoman Jenn Jacome.
FEMA sent generators to support Texas water treatment plants, hospitals and nursing homes, along with thousands of blankets and ready-to-eat meals, officials said. The Texas Restaurant Association also said it is coordinating food donations to hospitals.
People stand in line outside a HEB supermarket in the snow Thursday, February 18, 2021, in Austin, Texas. (Associated Press)
Weather also disrupted water systems in several southern cities, including New Orleans and Shreveport, Louisiana, where fire trucks delivered water to hospitals and bottled water was brought in to patients and staff.
Power was cut off at a New Orleans facility that pumps drinking water from the Mississippi River. A Sewerage and Water Board spokeswoman said generators at the site were used until electricity was restored.
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Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt pleaded with residents to limit water use, and Jackson, Miss. Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said most customers were without water, with no schedule for when it would be restored. At least 19,000 residents were without power there.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.