Texas weather: Record-breaking winter storm Uri sparks power crisis for millions and leaves 25 dead
Over four million customers suffering outages in Lone Star state on Tuesday
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More than four and a half million customers across America continue to suffer with power outages as a brutal winter storm that has barrelled through much of the country heads Northeast on Tuesday.
An overwhelming proportion of those power outages were seen in Texas, which remains under a federal emergency declaration as the state bears the brunt of severe weather and freezing temperatures.
The storm, which has seen about 200 million be placed under some kind of weather-related alert, has brought extreme conditions to a number of states that are not acclimatised to harsh conditions.
Twenty-five people are reported to have died in weather-related accidents since the frigid temperatures gripped the country, including a pile-up in Fort Worth, Texas, that left six people dead.
Seven cities across the central US and southern plains experienced their coldest mornings in decades, with morning lows dropping below zero in some hard-hit areas.
Parts of the Chicago area were also blanketed with up to a foot and a half of snow forcing school closures as officials urged residents to stay off the snow-filled roads.
Elsewhere, residents in Brunswick County, North Carolina, are still reeling from a tornado that touched down overnight, killing at least three people injuring many others.
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North Carolina tornado kills three leaving others trapped in homes
A tornado that ripped through North Carolina’s Brunswick County overnight has left at least three people dead and injured ten others.
The twister hit just after midnight on Tuesday in southeastern Brunswick County near Grissettown in the Ocean Ridge Plantation Community.
News outlets reported that the storm destroyed homes, blew powerlines, leaving thousands without electricity, and snapped trees in half.
“It’s something like I have never seen before. A lot of destruction. It’s going to be a long recovery process,” Brunswick County Sheriff John Ingram said at a press conference early on Tuesday.
Brunswick County Emergency Management has said that people were trapped in homes and Mr Ingram confirmed that searches for missing people were underway and will increase during the day.
Wilmington Fire Department tweeted that two teams “are deploying as we speak to aid in locating missing persons” following the tornado.
Reporting by the Associated Press
Seven cities across US experience coldest morning in decades
Seven cities across the central US and southern plains are experiencing their coldest mornings in decades, with morning lows dropping below zero in some hard-hit areas.
CNN reported that a number of locations this morning saw record-breaking cold temperatures including major cities inTexas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma.
Oklahoma City saw temperatures fall to 12 degrees, the coldest since 1899 and it's second coldest ever.
In Texas, Houston and San Antonio saw temperatures reach 13 degrees and 12 degrees, the coldest since 1989 for both areas. Dallas also hit -1 degrees, it's second coldest ever
In Arkansas, Little Rock experienced morning temperatures of -1 degrees, the coldest since 1989, while Fayetteville recorded its all-time coldest temperature at-20 degrees.
Hastings in Nebraska also made a new record for its all-time coldest temperature at -30 degrees.
Ted Cruz mocked for California dig as Texas suffers widespread outage
Texas senator Cruz is being pulled up online for his past comments during the California blackouts last year now that his own state is suffering the side effects of harsh weather.
Last August, Mr Cruz criticised California’s governor for asking residents to conserve energy amid the blackouts, saying the state was “unable to perform even basic functions of civilization, like having reliable electricity.”
Now, more than four million customers in Texas are experiencing power outages due to the ongoing winter storm Uri, prompting social media users to remind Mr Cruz of his original dig.
Texas governor blames private power companies of ‘falling short’ amid outage
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has blamed massive outages affecting millions of people in the state on private power companies saying that they have “fallen short.”
Mr Abbott told ABC 13 on Monday: “The people who have fallen short with regard to the power are the private power generation companies.
"There’s a separate part of the system that is not working right now, and those are the private companies that generate the power that goes into ERCOT. And it’s those private companies that generate power that are not working," he said.
The governor added: "They were working up until about midnight last night, but after midnight, some of them literally froze up, and were incapable of providing power, and some are still incapable of providing power."
Over four million customers are seeing power outages in the state, according to poweroutage.us, with reports that some people have had outages lasting at least 24 hours.
Chicago area blanketed with over foot of snow
A winter storm has blanketed parts of the Chicago area with up to a foot and a half of snow forcing school closures as officials urged residents to stay off the snow-filled roads.
The National Weather Service reported that 18 inches of snow had fallen in Evanston by 8am on Tuesday.
Midway International Airport saw 17.7 inches of snow while O’Hare International airport reported 7.5 inches.
The heavy snowfall prompted schools to cancel classes across the region while federal and local courts canceled in-person hearings.
Illinois State Police and the state Department of Transportation urged residents to stay at home Tuesday while crews clear roadways.
Reporting by the Associated Press
Officials warn against carbon monoxide poisoning following Texas deaths
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has warned Americans on the safe use of generators amid ongoing freezing weather across the country.
“Generators can cause dangerous hazards like fire or carbon monoxide poisoning,” the agency said on Twitter, alongside a list of advice on how to use generators safely.
On Tuesday, Houston Police Department confirmed that an adult female and a child died of carbon monoxide poisoning. The department said that “initial indications” showed that a car was “running in the attached garage to create heat as the power is out.”
“Cars, grills and generators should not be used in or near a building,” they warned.
Every year, at least 430 people die in the US from accidental carbon monoxide poisoning, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
‘It’s like a war zone over here’: Brunswick County reels from tornado
Residents in Brunswick County, North Carolina, are still reeling from a tornado that touched down overnight, killing at least three people injuring many others.
The county’s emergency services director Ed Conrow said on Tuesday that the tornado first hit a large retirement community before crossing a highway and damaging homes in a rural area.
Local resident Sharon Benson said that her roof was damaged, her garage door was blown off and windows were shattered at her home.
“We’ve got some substantial damage,” she said, adding that her neighbor’s houses were also heavily damaged. “It’s like a war zone over here. Trees uprooted. Windows, roofs.”
Reporting by the Associated Press
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