On Feb. 16, most of the South, including the state of Texas, was hit by a snowstorm. As a result, multiple cities suffered from power outages, water contamination, a rapid increase in electric bills, freezing temperatures and much more.
Samford students from Texas spoke with The Samford Crimson about how their families had been affected by the snowstorm.
“My cousin didn’t have power for a couple of days,” junior Simi Komenda said. “One of my friends back home didn’t have power for three days, and the temperature inside her house was 40 degrees, and they had to keep a fire going to keep themselves warm. My grandma lives in a senior living place, and they had no power, so she was stuck on the third floor until my parents were able to come and get her. However, all the senior living places across the state had no power, and the people who work there couldn’t get there to help the residents.”
Other Texas residents did not have running water for days.
“My family lost power for three days. I have a few friends who live in College Station, and their water got cut off, so they didn’t have water, heat or electricity,” sophomore Claire Lilly said.
Some Texans got creative with boiling the snow to get water. The absence of running water made pipes freeze and burst in many homes.
“My older sister who attends Baylor University had to boil snow to get warm water,” freshman Claire Crocker said. “My grandmother, aunt, and uncle were losing power constantly, and a few family friends’ pipes had burst, causing their house to be flooded.”
In addition to power and water outages, the snowstorm also destroyed buildings.
“The school where my little brother attends lost the entire ceiling and all the insulation,” Crocker said.
These stories provide a glimpse into the havoc that many Texans are facing due to this snowstorm.
Fortunately, many Texans now have power again as the warm temperatures have melted the snow. Many of now attempting to fix household damage caused by the snow and lack of power. According to NPR, numerous Texas power companies are facing legal battles and discontent from customers over the failure of providing power during the winter storms and the drastic rise of prices of power bills.
For more information on warming centers, tips on what to do in a snowstorm, organizations to donate to, visit the Instagram page @mfoltx and check out the post “Resource Guide for People in Texas Right Now.” (https://www.instagram.com/p/CLa8ID6AGrM/?igshid=12a4o17q02ok9)
Staff Writer
