Long road to recovery: Effects of devastating winter freeze to haunt Texas for years
By Alexandra Villarreal
[...]
After devastating winter weather left Texans shivering in the dark last week, warmer temperatures and open storefronts have restored some semblance of normalcy. But the storm’s remnants could haunt parts of the state for months – or even years - after catastrophes compounded one another in a true humanitarian crisis. Its impact on finances, health and homes and the state’s politics and economics will not simply fade away now that warm sunshine has returned and the media spotlight has moved on.
[...]
As millions of Texans went without power or potable water, sometimes for days, they turned to dangerous solutions such as gas stoves, cars and generators for warmth. Hundreds suffered carbon monoxide poisoning. Others died from suspected hypothermia. Still others were killed in house fires after lighting their fireplace.
[...]
But this month’s winter storm wasn’t an anomaly: extreme weather events are expected to become even more frequent as climate change accelerates, and Texas remains incredibly vulnerable. After last week’s calamity, power plants, homes and businesses have little choice but to “winterize”.
Those upgrades will carry a hefty price tag that will likely get passed down to consumers, driving up electricity rates, construction costs and insurance premiums, said Pia Orrenius, vice-president and senior economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
[...]