While temperatures are already on the rise in Texas and other states battered by this week’s severe winter weather, the freezing temperatures and extreme conditions have left approximately 70 people dead, and many more without power and potable drinking water.
The Associated Press reported the updated death toll Friday, including fatalities across the country from car crashes, carbon monoxide poisoning, drownings, house fires and hypothermia.
In Fort Worth, Texas, ambulance provider MedStar has continued to receive reports of hypothermia, most of which were from people in their own homes, according to the AP. The emergency provider reached a peak of 77 hypothermia calls on Wednesday.
Authorities suspect that the death of an 11-year-old boy in his bed in Conroe, near Houston, Tuesday was likely caused by hypothermia after his family’s home lost power amid the storm.
The New York Times reported Saturday that 75-year-old Carrol Anderson, an Army veteran who breathed with the help of oxygen tanks, died in Crosby, Texas, after the electricity in his home that powers his main tank went out during the storm.
As people across Texas and other states attempt to find warmth, some have turned to sitting in their running cars or next to generators, prompting a series of deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning.
On Saturday, a 68-year-old man and a 44-year-old woman in Louisiana died from carbon monoxide poisoning after they placed a generator in their camper to keep warm, according to the state’s health department.
Amid the fallout from the weather, President Biden has approved states of emergency in Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma. On Saturday, the White House announced that Biden had issued a major disaster declaration for Texas, allowing for the Lone Star state to receive additional federal resources to address widespread blackouts and water shortages.
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As temperatures rise, close to 70 dead in states with severe winter weather https://t.co/lISPLRp6K2 pic.twitter.com/5QirqKdMqp
— The Hill (@thehill) February 21, 2021
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