Abbott addresses Texans again on power outages and water services

City of Richardson worker Kaleb Love breaks ice on a frozen fountain Tuesday Feb. 16 2021 in Richardson Texas

Texas officials advised almost a quarter of the state's population to boil tap water before drinking it. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said residents of the state's largest city would have to boil water until at least Sunday or Monday. Her husband, who is on a defibrillator and heart monitor, has only enough heart medication to get him through Sunday because she hasn't been able to go to the pharmacy.

Bulk and bottled water deliveries were planned Friday to the hardest-hit Louisiana areas with a focus on hospitals, nursing homes and dialysis centres, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said, adding that he was hopeful that warmer weather expected during the weekend would speed up repairs.

Numerous millions of Texans who lost power for days after a deadly winter storm overwhelmed the electricity grid now have it back, but many people in the South are still without safe drinking water.

Federal Emergency Management Agency acting administrator Bob Fenton said Friday that teams were in Texas with fuel, water, blankets and other supplies.

Water pressure dropped after lines froze and because many people left faucets dripping to prevent pipes from icing, said Toby Baker, executive director of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

"And ERCOT's annual winter assessment, which was created to ensure the state is prepared, that assessment assured the public of Texas that there would be enough power to meet peak demand this winter".

The scale of the impacts and the wide-spread footprint of this extreme winter weather event is likely to drive the ultimate insurance market loss even higher, and Texas looks set to be the main location for a concentration of claims.

And emergency medical authorities around the state said dozens of others have been treated for suspected carbon monoxide poisoning, while 77 were treated for hypothermia in northern Texas Tuesday. Another in Houston had to haul in water on trucks to flush toilets.

West Virginia braces for another winter storm
The rest of Alabama is only expected to get a cold rain today , but the weather service will be watching temperatures closely. Harsh winter conditions continued through Tuesday morning as an ice storm hit the area, making travel treacherous.

The memo ended by stating the Biden administration is ready should Texas or any other regions impacted by the winter weather need additional federal disaster support. "Please heed the instructions of local officials and stay safe".

The announcement comes after a devastating week of freezing temperatures and winter storms in Texas that led to widespread power outages.

But electrical grid operators in Texas were reporting Friday that power transmission had returned to normal, though some small outages remained.

At least 58 deaths across the southern United States this week were directly and indirectly related to the weather, and many more people have been fighting for their lives.

As of Wednesday, 2.7 million households didn't have power and many are wondering when their electricity will come back.

The cold weather also damaged infrastructure and water pipes, forcing officials in Houston and surrounding areas to issue an advisory to boil water before use in case of contamination.

In Jackson, Mississippi, 161,000 people were without water Thursday, AP reported.

Related News:

20 February 2021

Facebook bans Australian users from viewing and sharing news
Some have already accused Facebook of pursuing a vendetta against the public by shutting out news from these public pages. Unlike Google, which threatened to stop operating its search engine in the country but relaxed its position.

17 February 2021

Japan set to begin 1st COVID-19 vaccine rollout targeting medical workers
The CDC data documented the 10 cases of anaphylactic shock among a reported 4,041,396 first doses of the Moderna vaccine. The first vials of locally produced AstraZeneca vaccine coming off the line in Victoria yesterday.

17 February 2021

Plaskett insists Trump will 'never be elected again' despite impeachment acquittal
Every incumbent House Republican won for the first time in decades, and we flipped 15 seats, nearly costing Nancy Pelosi her job. Congressman Adam Kinzinger of IL , an outspoken Trump critic, has been disowned by his own family for his vote to impeach Trump.
20 February 2021

Ted Cruz flew to Cancun amid Texas power outages, freeze
The Texas lawmaker said his house had lost power and heat for two days, so his girls asked if they could travel someplace warmer. Cruz carries his luggage at the Cancun International Airport in Mexico before boarding a plane back to the US on Thursday.

19 February 2021

Trump breaks post-impeachment trial silence to lash out at Mitch McConnell
He did not seek to defend Trump's actions, and in statements and interviews has continued to blame Trump for the violence . Jeff Flake , a former Republican senator from Arizona, has said the party should move on from Trump.

17 February 2021

Snap lockdown quashes Melbourne outbreak, tennis fans poised to return
The state's six million-plus residents are required to stay home except for essential shopping and work, caregiving and outdoor exercise.
19 February 2021

Democrats to formally introduce Biden’s citizenship bill
Agents will need pre-approval from a senior manager if they want to arrest someone who does not fall into one of those categories. That could leave the door open to standalone bills focused on providing a pathway to citizenship for various populations.

18 February 2021

US life expectancy sees biggest decline since World War II
Conversely, the gap between Hispanic Americans and white Americans decreased by 37%, from 3 to 1.9 years, according to the report. The report comes on the heels of preliminary figures that have suggested 2020 will be the deadliest year in US history.

17 February 2021

Ontario reports 904 COVID-19 cases
We also have 9 confirmed cases of the United Kingdom variant that originated in South Africa and 1 that originated from Brazil. On Wednesday at Queen's Park, Ford said when the COVID-19 hot spots reopen it will be done "very cautiously".
19 February 2021

WHO urges wealthy nations donate to Covax initiative to ensure fairness
To date, a fraction of the doses purchased by governments have been administered, even in wealthy countries. That is likely to mean the U.S. will have ample surplus doses that could be donated to poorer nations.

18 February 2021

What London officials say about potential for local handgun ban
Helping police trace guns used in crimes by requiring businesses to keep point-of-sale records for non-restricted firearms. Trudeau said Canadian officials studied gun buyback schemes operated by other countries, including New Zealand.

17 February 2021

Woman who called police on black birdwatcher has criminal case dropped
Cooper could appreciate that racial identities shape our lives but we cannot use them to harm ourselves or others", Illuzzi said. In the video birdwatcher Mr Cooper recorded of Ms Cooper, he sounded calm and appeared to keep a safe distance from her.