Texas storm recovery for renters like this Dallas man is hard-fought
“What is an emergency, if not this?” says this disabled renter
Tom Strzyz holds his head as he talks about what he went through during the winter storm that hit Texas in mid-February. Strzyz along with several residents, lost power, fetched water from the swimming pool and hot water only began to flow this week in spurts at the Wildflower Apts complex in Dallas on Thursday, March 11, 2021.(Lola Gomez)
Tom Strzyz sulked in the muggy air outside his mucky apartment.
The epic snowstorm, failed electricity and busted pipes have sent his spirits south. Almost four weeks since the Texas arctic blast began on Valentine’s Day, his apartment is still a mess, especially the bathroom where a wall turned to sponge from a water leak and exposed the timber.
No water: 15 days after losing service due to a winter storm, some in Dallas still lack working plumbing
‘Minnesotans don’t go through this’: Slow recovery from Texas storm hits Dallas renters hard
Holding her 6-month-old Juan Jr., Maria Magarin looks at the water damage she’s sustained to her apartment in far northeast Dallas on Thursday, March 4, 2021. Magarin sustained extensive water damage and lost hot water due to the epic snowstorm that hit a few weeks ago. Magarin fears the mold growing on her wet walls will make her young sons sick and that the saggy ceiling in a walk-in closet will collapse.(Lynda M. González / Staff Photographer)
The bodies kept coming to the morgue, but none were leaving.
Frozen to death from hypothermia. Poisoned by carbon monoxide. Trapped in home fires. Dead from crashes on icy roads.
The Dallas County medical examiner’s Office was close to capacity and funeral homes couldn’t pick up bodies as the winter storm made roads icy and caused millions of power outages across Texas.
More bodies came last week as families, unable to check on loved ones during the storm, discovered relatives died in their homes and the bodies of the homeless were found. Dr. Jeffrey Barnard, Dallas County medical examiner, asked hospitals to hold onto bodies a few extra days. Morgue doctors stored others in the cooling trucks that are used only in emergencies.
‘Where am I going to go?’: More than a week after the storm, North Texans don’t have water
As of Thursday, 250 water repairs were made in Dallas and 90 were pending, and the city hoped to address them all by next Thursday. It was unclear how many people still didn’t have water.
From left: Modesta Gonzalez, 60; Deveany Mendoza, 10; Alina Mendoza, 6; and Guadelupe Mendoza, 4, are reflected in water that flooded their apartment last week at Villas del Solamar in Dallas.(Brandon Wade / Special Contributor)
On her 10th day without running water, Yulissa Gonzalez couldn’t bear to enter her apartment. The stench was just too strong.
The Dallas County medical examiner’s office said Tuesday that it is investigating whether 17 deaths are linked to the winter storm. The agency said it.