America buckled against historic snowstorms - Vietnamese in Texas struggled in the cold

In the past week, cold weather covered the United States, claiming the lives of at least 58 people. Snow covered 3/4 of the land area in the flag country, many transport routes were paralyzed, causing the distribution of vaccines against Covid-19 to be interrupted.

Snowstorms of unprecedented intensity have hit many states in the United States for weeks. Unusually cold makes people's lives turn upside down, even in places experiencing unprecedented ice like Texas, many people's lives fall into a nightmare with a constant blackout disaster and the following. followed by a water shortage crisis.

There are at least millions of people living in the cold since February 14. At one point, 4.5 million of the 29 million people living in Texas lived in the dark.

Texas is a state with a fairly mild climate, hot in the summer but not too cold in the winter. However, a large-scale snowstorm last week brought temperatures to a record low in decades. The temperature in Dallas on February 16 sometimes dropped to nearly -19 degrees Celsius, the lowest level since 1949. In Austin, the temperature on February 15 was -13 degrees Celsius, the lowest recorded since 1909. In Houston, the temperature recorded at George Bush Airport on February 15 was -8 degrees Celsius, the lowest in the year. the past 32 years.

The weather crisis has set off alarm bells for power systems across the United States, as climate change worsens, extreme weather conditions beyond historic norms become increasingly common. popular.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott said on Wednesday he has asked state lawmakers to push through a law that would require all Texas power plants to "winter" their facilities. , as in the colder climates. Abbott hopes this measure will prevent widespread power outages in Texas during future snowstorms.

However, according to Reuters news agency, about 325,000 households in Texas, as of February 18, still had to live without electricity, and more than 13 million households reported that their water service was still interrupted. at now.

Energy operators and state leaders, including Governor Greg Abbott, are facing criticism for allowing water and electricity shortages amid a cold snap that lasted more than four days. .

Texas Senator Ted Cruz recently had to apologize for voluntarily vacationing in Cancun, Mexico with his family in the middle of a snowstorm. Ted Cruz announced he had cut his vacation short, and vowed to return to Texas soon to "find out what happened."

Reuters also said that the shortage of electricity has also significantly cut off the water supply for millions of Texans, making the treatment capacity of hospitals increasingly strained amid the ongoing Covid-19 epidemic. complex variable. Many vulnerable communities are currently isolated as roads between parts of the state remain frozen, making it impossible to move vehicles.

When the blizzard hit, Vietnamese in Texas spent nearly 60 hours living in darkness, bone-chilling cold, while dehydrated, bathroom ceilings collapsed because of broken pipes.

Mr. Le Minh, a resident of Houston, Texas, shared that his family spent 56 hours in the dark, when his house lost power from 2 am on February 15 to 10 am on February 17. .

"The temperature in the house sometimes drops to 7-8 degrees Celsius. Many of my colleagues' homes, the temperature even drops to 3-4 degrees. My house uses an electric stove so I can't cook, but fortunately there is food in the house. available from Tet such as banh chung and spring rolls. I temporarily eat bread, packaged baby food and drink milk," Mr. Minh said.

To be able to withstand the unusually deep cold, the whole Minh family had to wear warm and thick clothes to sleep. Minh is more difficult because he has a child nearly two years old. But he still felt lucky that he wasn't dehydrated.

Responding to the press on February 19 (local time), Ms. TBN, a Vietnamese native in Austin (the capital of Texas), said the temperature in her place dropped to minus 14 degrees Celsius but the electricity went out, no electricity. heater. To keep warm, she herself and her family had to wear many layers of clothes and 4 blankets. After 3 days of intermittent power, the power supply in her house is now stable. However, there is no water in her house so far. Because of her foresight, Ms. N often keeps a little bottled water in case of emergencies, so this amount of water is still enough for cooking and drinking in the past few days. In order to have more water for domestic use, Ms. N. went out to the yard to dam some ice and snow to cook and defrost. Ms. N. added that tomorrow she will collect water at the city's water distribution points.

Another Vietnamese in Texas said that her house lost power for 4 days and water for 3 days. She said that during this difficult time, many Vietnamese people in Texas are willing to cook food for free for families without electricity and water who cannot cook, or clean rooms for people in areas without electricity and water to come. shelter through the cold. In addition, there are groups of Vietnamese who provide their phone numbers, ready to help repair broken water pipes or clean houses for other Vietnamese families whose roofs have collapsed.

On many Vietnamese groups on Facebook such as Vietnamese Houstonians, many members constantly share and update relevant information about the cold weather to the community, while others cook and provide free meals or transport. Elderly people are free when they have a need to go out.

As of February 19, all power plants were back up and running, but 195,000 homes remained without power and residents of 160 of Texas' 254 counties were still without water, the Texas Environmental Quality Commission said. . Nearly 20 people have died from the effects of the cold, but officials suspect many have died and their bodies have not been discovered.

A similar phenomenon has also been recorded in humans during a terrible cold at the end of January 2019, when Dr. Stathis Poulakidas worked at John H. Stroger Jr Hospital. of the city of Chicago, Illinois, reflected that his workplace had received up to 25 cases of frostbite (Frostbite), including severe cases requiring amputation of fingers and toes that were gangrene due to cold.

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