02/20/2021 3:25 PM
Clarín.com
World
Updated 02/20/2021 3:25 PM
The president of the United States, Joe Biden, declared a "major disaster" in Texas, one of the states hardest hit by the storm that has caused
at least 59 deaths
in the country, and decided to allocate federal assistance to support state and local efforts to recover the affected areas.
The White House announced in a statement Saturday that the president made the decision on Friday,
immediately making federal resources available to more than 70 counties
that were affected by blackouts and damage.
The storms that hit Texas in recent days left millions of users in the dark, although electricity supply has been gradually restored, and public water systems in different areas have collapsed.
This Friday and Saturday, long lines of people were seen in Houston and different cities of the southern state who were waiting under freezing cold to carry cans of drinking water or take bottles that were distributed by local authorities.
Almost half of the state's 29 million residents have suffered numerous water service interruptions in recent days, because more than 900 public networks in 164 counties have been affected by the storms, according to data from the Quality Commission Texas Environmental.
Empty gondolas at a Houston, Texas supermarket this Saturday.
The storm stopped supplies.
Photo: REUTERS
In addition, hundreds of large chain supermarkets - such as Walmart and Whole Foods - had to close their doors due
to food shortages
and those that remain open do so with their shelves empty or with little merchandise.
"Assistance may include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster," said the note from the White House.
The resources, the statement added, "are also available to eligible state and local governments and certain private non-profit organizations on a cost-sharing basis."
Restore electricity and drinking water
This Friday, the Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, reported that his "immediate" priority is to continue with the tasks of restoring electricity to homes, which he clarified is no longer due to the lack of generation but to the fall of lines or the need for manual reconnection of the service.
State workers and volunteers hand out bottles of mineral water at Delmar Stadium in Houston, Texas, this Friday.
Photo: BLOOMBERG
Another of the urgent tasks now is to restore the water service
, for which mobile liquid analysis laboratories have been set up, the licenses of dozens of local plumbers have been renewed and the arrival of others from nearby areas is being coordinated.
Abbott confirmed that they have delivered more than 1.7 million bottles of water to communities, in many of which the
recommendation to boil the water
they receive through the pipes
remains in force
.
In the wake of the storm, Louisiana and Oklahoma also issued federal disaster declarations, making it easier for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to move equipment and resources to those areas.
Source: EFE and AP
CB
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