Former Iowans face Texas weather disaster

On the week of Feb. 14, Texas had experienced some Iowa-like weather. 

What had started off as a small snowfall, soon put Texas in a place of disaster. With houses losing power and pipes bursting, the people in Texas found themselves in a panic. 

Texas resident, Felicia Carrillo, said, “I felt scared. Being originally from Iowa, I prepared as best I could … and all that wasn’t enough.” 

Carrillo lives in a house in Austin with her husband and a two-year-old daughter. Carrillo said she was worried about having bought enough water for them to drink while their power, heat and water were out. 

“I cried several times because I hadn’t done enough. We were worried about getting our next meal and water to drink,” Carrillo said. 

She said the internal temperature of her house had dropped 22 degrees within two days of being out of power and heat. 

Many families like hers ended up having to throw away all the food in their fridge and freezers due to the power outages. People also had to stay with family around their area who still had power. 

Haley Eckerman is a resident of Stephenville, where it snowed from Feb. 2-Feb. 23. She felt “anxious, restless, scared,” and she said her biggest worry was her pipes bursting in her new house. 

The lack of preparation in this situation has put many people in a dangerous position, with no heat, power, water or sometimes shelter. “I think Texas needs to better prepare for situations like this. It doesn’t snow all the time, but that doesn’t mean people should act like it’s not a possibility.” Carrillo said. 

There are many organizations in Texas to help out the different communities. In Austin Texas, the area Urban League started the #LoveThyNeighborTX campaign to raise money for hotel rooms, food, water, clothing and other necessities for those who need help. There are small businesses making deliveries of food, water, hygiene kits, and blankets around their communities. 

There are ways for people all around the country to help Texas in their time of need. Many places in Texas have a spot to go online to find an Amazon wishlist for people to go on and order things from this wishlist and have them shipped directly to the location in Texas. There are also Food banks that are taking donations, even from other states. Just visit Feeding Texas online and you can find a way to get food delivered to any food bank in Texas.