The late winter of this February hasn’t been the friendliest to the state of Texas. Winter Storm Uri brought a series of snow storms as well as frigid temperatures throughout the state of Texas this month. This unexpected weather (for Texas) caused at least 20 deaths and left millions without electricity and water. This problem stems from the fact that homes and pipes in most southern states were not built for the extremely cold weather. It became a life threatening situation for many Texans during the peak of the storm. Recent search data from Google Inc. shows that people in the state of Texas have looked up “how to stay warm” the most out of all the states. 

To assist during the trying times, Texas Air National Guardsmen from the 181st Airlift Squadron loaded pallets of water to planes at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas, which were then sent around Texas for aid. Several aircrafts have delivered bottled water to towns in south Texas since Winter Storm Uri left many Texans without electricity or water. Working around the clock, Texas Army and Air National Guardsmen orchestrated the delivery of more than 40,000 cases of water themselves, while working in tandem with TDEM (Texas Emergency Managament), and other agencies, first responders, county officials, and volunteers to deliver millions of bottles of water overall, plus food and other necessities to Texans still in need.

“I am surprised they’re getting a lot of snow, it must be hard to not have any power or water for awhile. It makes me wonder how they’re situated right now, and how they’re coping with it” says Damian Stanek.

As of Saturday February 20th, power had been restored  to most people across the region; however, 69,000 people in Texas, 61,000 in Mississippi and tens of thousands more in Louisiana, Kentucky and West Virginia have been without electricity. Water systems serving a majority of the state’s 254 counties continue to be disrupted. The scope of the disaster has led President Biden to sign a major disaster declaration, which would enable the government to provide more aid to Texas, ahead of his potential visit to the state next week.