Updated
Mar 17, 2021
At Least 57 Dead From Texas Winter Storm, Preliminary Report Says
State health officials said the toll could rise as they verify more deaths related to when Texas power grid failed amid the frigid weather.
At least 57 people died during the recent winter storms in Texas, according to preliminary data published Monday by state health authorities.
The Texas Department of State Health Services’ preliminary tally is for verified winter storm-related deaths that occurred between Feb. 11 and March 5, when the state’s power grid failed in response to an unprecedented level of winter weather in the South.
Officials counted 57 deaths in the preliminary report, 25 of which were in Harris County, which includes Houston. The next highest preliminary death count was in the much smaller Taylor County, which includes Abilene, with five fatalities.
In extraordinary, unscheduled floor action Monday, the Senate approved a bill directing the Public Utility Commission to order the state electric grid and market operator to correct billions in erroneous
Texas electric grid failures fuel new divide between Gov. Abbott and Lt. Gov. Patrick
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1of25Gov. Greg Abbott talks to reporters during a press conference about a package of election reforms, at Senator Paul Bettencourt s District Office on Monday, March 15, 2021, in Houston.Godofredo A. Vásquez/Staff photographerShow MoreShow Less
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Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, points out Gov. Greg Abbott during his inauguration speech in Austin, on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019.Bob Owen, Staff / San Antonio Express-NewsShow MoreShow Less
3of25Gov. Greg Abbott exits a press conference at which he talked about a package of election reforms, at Senator Paul Bettencourt s District Office on Monday, March 15, 2021, in Houston.Godofredo A. Vásquez/Staff photographerShow MoreShow Less
As a deadly winter storm barreled toward Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott sought the advice of a longtime climate change skeptic an introduction made at the behest of U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. This guy knows his stuff, Cruz said of Joe Bastardi, a meteorologist and author of books saying that climate change is not caused by humans but naturally occurring.
Bastardi did not return several requests for comment. Records obtained by the American-Statesman through a request under the Texas Public Information Act show that Abbott spoke with Bastardi on the afternoon of Feb. 12 the first meeting on the governor s calendar that appeared related to the ominous weather forecast scarcely more than 48 hours before the storm dumped ice and snow across a broad swath of Texas, knocking out power to millions of households and killing untold numbers of people.
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