Photo: Cooper Neill/Bloomberg via Getty
Houston has ordered millions of residents to use boiled or bottled water as the city’s water pressure plummeted dangerously low from winter storms sweeping across Texas.
Arctic storms dropped large amounts of snow and ice on states from the South to the Northeast over the past several days, knocking out electricity in Texas, Louisiana and Kentucky, as well as other states.
More than 3.1 million Texas customers were without power as of Wednesday afternoon, according toPowerOutage.us, which tracks power outages throughout the country. Texas has its own power grid, which has struggled amid the weather crisis.
At least 23 people have died, according to theNew York Times. Included in the death toll are people who perished trying to stay warm during the storm. Earlier this week, awoman and child died of carbon monoxide poisoningin Houston after running a car in the garage to try and keep warm, Houston Police said.
Cooper Neill/Bloomberg via Getty
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner advised local grocery stores to stock up on water and pleaded with residents to be mindful of their water usage as hospitals were running low on the critical supply, theHouston Chroniclereported.
“Be conservative on water usage today,” the mayortweeted. “It is needed for hospitals and fires.”
Residents were also advised not to use sprinklers, washing machines, dishwashers or other non-essential appliances that require water.
Many other local jurisdictions across Texas have also issued boil water notices due to the storm, including Pearland, Fulshear and Greatwood-Sugar Land, theHouston Chroniclereports.
source: people.com
