Houston City employees drop free crates of water after the City of Houston introduced a boiling water advisory following an unprecedented winter storm, at Delmar Stadium in Houston, Texas, February 19, 2021.
Callaghan O’Hare | Reuters
President Joe Biden has approved a major disaster statement for Texas as the state grapples with widespread power outages and water shortages amid frigid winter conditions, the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced Saturday.
The action unlocks federal funding for individuals in Texas, grants for temporary housing and home repairs, and cheap loans to cover uninsured property losses.
Millions of Texans have struggled with power outages, and more than half of the state is now dealing with a disrupted water service with cooking notices in effect. More than 14 million people in Texas were told to boil their water as of Friday, as parts of the state’s water supply could be contaminated.
The statement also provides funding to share costs with state and local governments and some private non-profit organizations for emergency protection and mitigation measures. Dozens of provinces will have access to the aid.
The federal government has already approved emergency declarations for Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana and sent supplies such as generators, blankets, water and meals to Texas last week.
The president plans to visit Texas next week to assess the federal response. Biden said he will make a final decision not to go until after ensuring his presence would not impede recovery efforts. The government has worked closely with the Republican Government of Texas, Greg Abbott on disaster relief.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) said Friday it was returning to normal conditions and restoring power to millions of customers. According to the latest data from PowerOutage.us, more than 78,000 customers in Texas were still out of power Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m. ET.
Alison Silverstein, an independent energy consultant and former strategic adviser to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, predicted that 20 million or more Texans could be forced to boil water.