Long lines form outside the Texas supermarket amid power outages due to winter storms
A long line formed outside a supermarket in Austin, Texas, on Tuesday, February 16, after storms caused widespread power cuts across the state.
Austin, Texas – After a deadly winter blast overloaded the power grid and left millions of Texans without power, state hospitals are also facing the added stress of water scarcity, crowded emergency rooms and even being forced to evacuate patients.
Record low temperatures damaged infrastructure and plumbing, seriously damaging drinking water systems in the state of Lone Star. Texas officials ordered 7 million people – a quarter of the population in the country’s second largest state – to boil tap water before drinking it.
Some hospitals, already facing patients with COVID-19 and distribution of vaccines, were also affected by the devastation of the winter storm in the state’s power networks and public services. In Austin, hospitals suffered from the loss of water pressure and heat.
St. David’s South Austin Medical Center said Wednesday night that it had lost water pressure in the city of Austin. As water feeds the facility’s boiler, the hospital is also losing heat.
Hospital officials were working to evacuate some patients to other facilities in the area and said they were distributing bottles and water jars to patients and staff. Authorities added that they were working with the city to protect portable toilets.
“As this is a statewide emergency situation that is also affecting other hospitals in the Austin area, no hospital currently has the capacity to accept the transportation of large numbers of patients,” said David Huffstutler, CEO of St. David’s South Austin Medical Center.
In southwest Austin, officials at Ascension Seton Southwest Hospital said they were also experiencing intermittent problems with water pressure, reported the Austin American-Statesman. The hospital was rescheduling elective surgeries to preserve bed capacity and personnel as a result.
At the Houston Methodist, two of its community hospitals had no running water, but still treated patients, with most surgeries and non-emergency procedures canceled on Thursday and possibly Friday, spokeswoman Gale Smith told the Associated Press.
The emergency rooms were packed “due to patients being unable to meet their medical needs at home without electricity,” said Smith. She added that the pipelines blew up in Methodist hospitals, but were currently being repaired.
An ambulance is photographed outside St. David’s South Austin Medical Center in Austin, Texas. (Photo: FOX 7 Austin)
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.
In an “urgent call to action,” the Texas Restaurant Association said state hospitals “are in serious need of food for their staff and patients” and are working to coordinate food donations.
As of Tuesday, more than 4.4 million Texans were without power. The number fluctuated over the week as the blame was transferred between the Texas Electric Reliability Council (ERCOT), the state government and utility companies. Less than half a million households were still without electricity as of Thursday afternoon, the PowerOutage tracker reported.
Shopping malls remain lit up against blackout near Houston
A winter storm caused widespread blackouts in Houston, Texas, on Tuesday, February 16, while some areas remained lit, causing confusion among residents.
Some lost energy due to weather conditions, while others were in a rotating shutdown initiated by ERCOT, which manages the flow of electricity for more than 26 million customers.
RELATED: No power for 4 days, many residents warming up with frequent trips to outside vehicles
Although power was slowly restored to more Texans, many people were still without drinking water. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said he expects residents of the country’s fourth largest city to have to boil tap water before drinking it until Sunday or Monday.
Austin water director Greg Meszaros on Thursday urged residents to save water amid scarcity. He estimated that “tens of thousands” of people were without water and said residents should look for friends and neighbors until the city could open water distribution centers.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott urged residents this week to close the doors of their homes, if possible, to prevent further broken pipes and preserve pressure on municipal systems.
RELATED: Houstonians Must Prepare to Boil Water Over the Weekend
Weather also disrupted water systems in several other cities, including New Orleans and Shreveport, Louisiana, where fire trucks delivered water to hospitals and bottled water was brought in to patients and staff, the local station KSLA-TV reported.
This story was reported from Cincinnati. The Associated Press contributed.