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Millions of people were affected by the failure of the Texas electric grid after the major February storm, but marginalized communities were often hit the hardest.
When it comes to extremely cold weather, electricity is not a luxury but a necessity. Without electricity, people — especially vulnerable populations such as elderly folks, disabled people, and those with chronic illnesses — are at risk of hypothermia and other cold-related issues.
Moreover, those who need electricity-based medical equipment may find themselves unable to use machines they need to stay safe and healthy.
A 24-year-old with four chronic illnesses living in San Marco, Texas, was forced to start rationing her oxygen when the power went out, according to USA Today.
“It’s been emotionally exhausting,” Hannah Giffin said. “Not knowing if we’re going to have power to supply my ability to breathe is terrifying.”
For Giffin and others who are chronically ill, disabled, or otherwise rely on electricity for medical purposes, losing power can “be a matter of life and death,” Jane Buchanan, acting director of the disability rights division at Human Rights Watch, told USA Today.
“Losing electricity just exacerbates the inequalities that already exist for marginalized people, but specifically for those that are energy-dependent, transportation-dependent, healthcare-dependent,” Stephanie Duke, an attorney at Disability Rights Texas, told USA Today. “It’s the mechanisms and processes we have in place that create more barriers.”
Unfortunately, the effects of the Texas electric grid failure piled on top of other issues these communities were already dealing with, such as the ongoing fight against COVID-19, which has also disproportionately affected them. More than half of COVID hospitalizations and deaths in the U.S. were among Black and Hispanic patients.
Neighborhoods with mostly Black and Hispanic residents tend to have older homes with issues like poor insulation, old pipes, and leaky roofs, making these houses less able to withstand extreme weather events, according to The Texas Tribune.
Moreover, places people would normally seek out for refuge or assistance now carry with them the risk of exposure to the coronavirus, according to a study led by researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine and Duke University School of Medicine.
The hardships these communities face are layered, one on top of another.
“Texas thinks it’s some big, bad independent state, but we can’t get the power on. We need to rethink how we do things,” Chas Moore of the Austin Justice Coalition told The Washington Post. “When disaster hits, it hits those communities that we historically disregard and don’t pay enough attention to.”
If you are a homeowner affected by property damage caused by the Texas electric grid failure, or if you or a loved one have suffered a personal injury as a result, you may be able to file a lawsuit and pursue compensation.
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