Texas truth and reconciliation panel dissects Winter Storm Uri one year after the disaster
(CN) — A year after Winter Storm Uri brought freezing temperatures to Texas that triggered catastrophic power outages, a group of Democratic state lawmakers held a truth and reconciliation hearing Tuesday to discuss the death toll, what went wrong and whether legislative reforms to shore up the state’s grid went far enough.
“We call this event or this incident Winter Storm Uri and that always frustrates me because this was not a natural disaster, this was a man-made disaster. It was entirely predictable. And it hasn’t been fixed. And it will happen again,” said state Representative James Talerico.
He was one of four Austin-area Democratic state representatives who heard testimony at the Capitol from medical professionals, law enforcement officers, energy economists and a data analyst about the February 2021 storm that left millions of Texans without power for days when the state’s grid manager implemented blackouts due to a shortage of electricity.
Uri caused an estimated $295 billion in damage, according to the University of Houston.
The state’s official count of 246 deaths attributed to Uri came under fire with Representative Vikki Goodwin questioning why just 77 out of the state’s 254 counties reported deaths. She said it was surprising there were 28 deaths in Travis County, home to Austin, and none in neighboring Hays County.
https://www.courthousenews.com/texas-truth-and-reconciliation-panel-dissects-winter-storm-uri-one-year-after-the-disaster/