Texas crisis is expanding after a winter storm froze the infrastructure in the state. Although electricity has been almost completely restored, more than 13 million people – almost half of the state’s population – do not have access to clean running water.
In many homes, the tap is dry. Finding bottled water is almost impossible. Some resorted to boiling snow. Houston, which is the fourth largest city in America, opened 11 locations on Thursday to help donate water.
David J. Phillip / AP
When the pipes burst at the home of Texas representative Shawn Thierry, her world exploded. She and her 8-year-old daughter are in a hotel, but they won’t be able to live there for long.
“I mean, this is a nightmare, it is everyone’s nightmare,” Thierry told CBS News. “Your home is your home, it is where you go to find your peace and work and now, I am uprooted.”
Thierry is among millions of people in a new phase of misery. When the lights come on, the horrors of the storm are revealed.
Water is everywhere – or nowhere, as many treatment plants have been shut down and millions have received requests for water to boil. A line to enter a plumbing supply store took up many blocks. Even food has become difficult to find, as some grocery store shelves are empty.
Along the East Coast, snow and ice are causing serious car accidents and tearing down power cables, casting tens of thousands of people into the dark. President Biden declared a state of emergency in Oklahoma, where residents saw the longest sequence of sub-zero temperatures on record.
This winter storm also created a political storm when Texas Senator Ted Cruz was caught on a flight to Cancún while his voters suffered from the cold. He returned to Houston under police escort after his photos and videos became public. CBS News learned that he planned to return on Saturday.
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