Current:Home > MyTexas officials put the final death toll from last year's winter storm at 246 -TrueNorth Capital Hub
Texas officials put the final death toll from last year's winter storm at 246
View
Date:2025-04-11 17:29:05
Nearly a year after a deadly winter storm left Texans freezing and in the dark, state officials say they know the final death toll.
The Texas Department of State Health Services adjusted the number of people who died from last February's storm to 246 people — up from July's tally of 210. The victims, who spanned 77 counties in Texas, ranged in age from less than one year old to 102.
Last February's massive winter storm spread ice, snow, and freezing temperatures throughout Texas. The state's weak utility grid couldn't stand up to the record-breaking cold and left millions without power for days.
Most of the storm's victims died from hypothermia, according to the state's report.
Dozens of people also died from accidents on roads, falls, and fires. The prolonged loss of power also led to some victims losing access to necessary medical equipment, such as oxygen tanks or dialysis machines. At least 19 people died from carbon monoxide poisoning as they tried to heat their homes or cars as the unrelenting cold continued.
The state's new report counts victims of the storm as those who were found after the storm passed and people who were injured during the storm, but died at a later date.
Since the deadly blackout, regulators in Texas have implemented changes forcing power companies to ramp up weatherization requirements at their facilities. So far, officials there are feeling confident that the "lights will stay on," according to Texas Public Radio.
The state's Public Utility Commission says it is enforcing those new regulations. Power plants had until December to file winter preparedness reports, though 13 of them did not do so.
veryGood! (9)
Related
- Have Dry, Sensitive Skin? You Need To Add These Gentle Skincare Products to Your Routine
- Americans owe a record $1.1 trillion in credit card debt, straining budgets
- Cheese recall: Dozens of dairy products sold nationwide for risk of listeria contamination
- Votes on dozens of new judges will have to wait in South Carolina
- Federal hiring is about to get the Trump treatment
- What is Apple Vision Pro? Price, what to know about headset on its release date
- Travis Kelce Addresses Taylor Swift Engagement Speculation Ahead of 2024 Super Bowl
- Authorities target two Texas firms in probe of AI-generated robocalls before New Hampshire’s primary
- California DMV apologizes for license plate that some say mocks Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- Man freed after nearly 40 years in prison after murder conviction in 1984 fire is reversed
Ranking
- At site of suspected mass killings, Syrians recall horrors, hope for answers
- SZA Reveals Relatable Reason Why She Didn’t Talk to Beyoncé at the 2024 Grammys
- Bright lights and big parties: Super Bowl 2024 arrives in Las Vegas
- Census Bureau pauses changing how it asks about disabilities following backlash
- Israel lets Palestinians go back to northern Gaza for first time in over a year as cease
- Authorities target two Texas firms in probe of AI-generated robocalls before New Hampshire’s primary
- Former candidate who tried to recall Gov. Burgum runs again for North Dakota governor
- Bachelor’s Joey Graziadei Mixes Up Gypsy Rose Blanchard and Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Recommendation
Why we love Bear Pond Books, a ski town bookstore with a French bulldog 'Staff Pup'
Break-up pizza: Goodbye Pies from Pizza Hut will end your relationship for you
Census Bureau pauses changing how it asks about disabilities following backlash
We Found the Best Affordable Jewelry on Amazon That Looks High End
Warm inflation data keep S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq under wraps before Fed meeting next week
Project Veritas admits there was no evidence of election fraud at Pennsylvania post office in 2020
Record rainfall, triple-digit winds, hundreds of mudslides. Here’s California’s storm by the numbers
Brittany Cartwright Reveals Where She and Stassi Schroeder Stand After Rift