At least 36 deaths now attributed to severe winter weather in Texas, other states

by Justine Coleman - 02/18/21 12:21 PM ET

At least 36 people have died due to the severe weather in Texas and other states over the past few days, as millions deal with power outages, snow and freezing temperatures.

Most of the three dozen deaths were attributed to traffic accidents, as people attempted to travel on the messy and icy roads, The Associated Press reported on Thursday.

The second most common cause of death has been carbon monoxide poisoning after people used vehicles or generators to keep warm in low temperatures amid the outages. A mother and child were found dead in Houston on Tuesday after the woman started their car in a garage.

The severe winter weather has also led to six deaths due to exposure, including several bodies located next to Texas roads, a Kansas woman found in a nightgown and a Kentucky woman in a mobile home without heat.

A grandmother and three children were killed in a Texas house fire that officials said likely spread from their fireplace.

Another three people died after falling through ice in a pond in Tennessee, a lake in Oklahoma and a swimming pool in Louisiana, according to the AP. Three people died in a North Carolina tornado that was “fueled” by the winter storm. And a 9-year-old was killed after being pulled on a tube behind an ATV and hitting a mailbox.

Millions were without power in Texas alone over the past few days, although that number dropped to half of a million by Thursday morning. Mississippi and Louisiana also have more than 172,000 and more than 129,000 people without power, respectively.

Officials across Texas are advising residents to boil their tap water before drinking after the cold weather crippled the state’s infrastructure.

President Biden granted an emergency disaster declaration to Texas over the weekend, granting the state assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) and Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) have since requested federal emergency declarations.