Tales from the Texas cold: Struggles didn't stop when power returned

[DonViejo]

2021/2/20 16:38 (EST)
©Austin American-Statesman

AUSTIN, Texas — Cold but undaunted, Courtney Flores thought her family was doing moderately well after almost two days without power to their South Austin home. But then the water started pouring down from the attic.

It was Tuesday, about an hour before sunset, as they scrambled to limit the already extensive damage while packing up for an escape to a friend's house, knowing that the driving conditions would worsen after dark. They made it safely, finally warm but — like many other Texans — facing uncertainty.

"For the next who knows how long, we have to figure out a lot of unknowns, like where to live until our home is habitable again," Flores said.

The Flores family was among those featured in an American-Statesman story earlier this week on the struggles of life without electricity, and the newspaper checked on three of those families to see how they're doing as the weather, at least, begins returning to normal.

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[MineralMan]

1. Where were the PSAs on every communication channels that

told people to shut off their main water supply valves? That's what I can't figure out.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. If there were any such announcements (and there might not have been; it's Texas),

people wouldn't have been able to get them because they had no power for tv or internet, and after awhile no cell phone service when they couldn't recharge their phones. I don't know if the cellular services were working either. If they didn't have cars they couldn't get information from a car radio, and nobody has transistor radios these days.

For future reference: It's the valve with the red handle.

[catrose]

4. There was no good way to notify people without electricity.

Cell phone service was spotty. To keep it charged, I seldom used it, and after my Wi-Fi router and my husband’s phone died, my phone with 2-bar service was my only internet connection. All services were spotty. I was one of the lucky ones. I think the governor put out a tweet that people should google or dial 311. Emergency notifications haven’t been high on his priority list.

And people are still without power and water.

[Liberal In Texas]

3. Most of the water shut-off around here is at the street buried with the water meter.

It's in a hatch that has to be raised and you need a special key to turn the valve. Most people don't have one and many don't even know where their shut-off is. We don't have basements where it's nice and convenient and warm. Most people weren't going to go outside in 10 degree weather and try and suss out where the shut off was. Imagine an 85 year old lady trying to figure this out.

Plus once it's shut off, you have no water. Mostly we've been able to get by in the past letting the faucets drip and covering the outside spigots. This thing was a whole different animal and people didn't know to do this and I don't even think the government managers thought that that would be necessary.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

5. The water meter is buried, too?

I didn't even think about not having basements (where do you keep your spiders?). That's a whole 'nother complication; I just assumed you could go down there and turn the water off. It sounds like it will take awhile to get back to normal - hope the state gets its shit together and figures out how to keep something like this from happening again, and does something to actually help people in the meantime.

[NutmegYankee]

7. In the south the meter is often at the curb in a recessed cavity.

I have many wonderful memories of running out there with a crescent wrench like when a leak started at a saddle valve that supplied the ice maker on the fridge.

[dalton99a]

6. And most people don't own a key (or similar tool)

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

8. That's the "key"?

At least you wouldn't be likely to lose it, like a radiator key which you can never find when you need it. But I suppose you don't need radiator keys in Texas. It's interesting how climate affects ordinary household operations - that setup would never work in the north because it would freeze (water lines here are buried 7'-8') and because you wouldn't be able to find the valve under all the snow that gets plowed up on the curb. I've never lived farther south than 43 degrees latitude (I'm at 45 degrees now), so the differences in mundane processes like how you access public utilities are a bit of a surprise to me.

[dalton99a]

9. Yes, it's about 10 bucks at Home Depot