Even with the temperature in Dallas returning to above freezing, the disastrous effects of this unprecedented winter weather are still being felt. Food security is a huge issue as food banks and grocery stores struggle to cope with demand according to a Dallas Morning News article from February 20th.
“Melting ice across North Texas gave way to hungry residents looking to restock refrigerators and pantries, even while many in areas such as West Dallas’ Ledbetter Eagle Ford neighborhood still struggled with intermittent power and lack of water.
Long lines of cars rolled into grocery distribution sites from Plano to South Dallas while supermarket employees worked to restock shelves with high-demand staples after the region’s food system was crippled by power outages and frozen roads that have tested Texas’ ability to care for itself in wintry conditions.
Grocery stores were much better stocked on Saturday than in previous days, but store officials say it could be days or even weeks before supplies return to normal.
Thawing ice only exacerbated the problem as freezing pipes burst and left residents at homes and apartment complexes without working water with which to cook, bathe and flush toilets.”
Issues with electricity are also still prevalent, with some Texas residents still being charged outrageous sums just to meet their basic needs according to a February 19th article from the Dallas Morning News. In it they say:
“Now customers say they never dreamed they’d be billed in the four figures for five days of service.
Karen Cosby said her cost is $5,000 for usage since Saturday at her 2,700-square-foot house in Rockwall.
DeAndre Upshaw of Dallas said the electric bill for his 900-square-foot, two-story townhouse was also $5,000.
Other customers on social media expressed frustration with similar bills from Griddy, the power supplier that told its 29,000 customers on Saturday, after spot electricity prices soared, to quickly shift out of its network and find a new supplier.
Those spot prices hit $9,000 per megawatt-hour. That means $9 for a kilowatt-hour that usually costs Cosby around 7 cents, and sometimes as little as 2 cents.”
Even with things warming up, Texas is still plagued by a slew of problems in the aftermath.
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