The state of Texas was hit hard, as was much of the central United States, when frigid Arctic air pushed southward and a winter storm blew through. Millions of Texas residents have been without electricity for days amid record-setting cold temperatures and widespread blackouts. The power situation is improving now, but officials warn there may be further rotating power outages as systems come back online. Governor Greg Abbott announced that the White House has issued a Federal Emergency Declaration for Texas, responding to the crisis. Texans have been coping with the harsh conditions as best they can, finding shelter in some of the warming centers that have been opened, finding fuel for fireplaces or barbecue grills—despite many stores being closed—or bundling up together in their candlelit homes, waiting for the power to return.
Texas Is a Mess
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![A night view of a people in a car with its interior lights and headlights on, parked in a suburban street surrounded by dark houses.]()
Read moreKrystan Hood sits with her two young children inside her heated car after cold weather knocked out power in Corpus Christi, Texas, on February 16, 2021. #
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![A man and woman eat in the dark, their table lit by candles.]()
Read moreHoward and Nena Mamu eat dinner at their home by candlelight, after power companies performed rotating outages in the Glenwood neighborhood in Hutto, Texas, on February 16, 2021. #
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![Firefighters stand in a street near a firetruck, as a house burns nearby.]()
Read moreResidents of Cedar Crest Drive walk past their burning house as firefighters, who were only able to draw water from one hydrant because all three city-water treatment plants were offline due to cold-weather power outages, try to contain the fire in Abilene, Texas, on February 15, 2021. The house could not be saved due to the low water pressure. #
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![Ice coats the branches of a bush.]()
Read moreIce coats a bush in downtown Houston, Texas, on February 15, 2021. #
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![Horses wearing blankets stand in a snowy corral, beside a full water trough that has frozen over.]()
Read moreHorses wait for the ice to be broken in their water trough as the sun rises in Bastrop County, near Austin, Texas, on February 15, 2021. #
Nell Carroll / American Statesman via Reuters -
![A long line of people stand in cold weather outside a grocery store.]()
Read morePeople wait in long lines at an H-E-B grocery store in Austin, Texas, on February 17, 2021. #
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![A person walks across a residential street that is covered in snow.]()
Read moreA man walks to his friend's home in a neighborhood without electricity, as snow covers the Blackhawk neighborhood in Pflugerville, Texas, on February 15, 2021. #
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![People stand in a long line inside a Target store.]()
Read morePeople form a line beside empty produce shelves, waiting for cashiers at a supermarket in Austin, Texas, on February 17, 2021. #
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![People stand at the edge of a park, with buckets and ice chests, waiting to fill them with fresh water.]()
Read moreA water bucket is filled as others wait in near-freezing temperatures to use a hose from a public-park spigot on February 18, 2021, in Houston. Houston and several surrounding cities are under a boil-water notice as many residents are still without running water in their homes. #
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![A man carries a bag of charcoal in cold weather.]()
Read moreA man, who wished not to be identified, carries a bag of charcoal he planned to use to keep warm on February 16, 2021, in Houston. #
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![A person chops small bits of wood on concrete, using a hatchet.]()
Read moreVictor Zelaya chops wood scraps to be used for cooking during a power outage caused by the winter storm on February 16, 2021, in Houston, Texas. #
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![Two women warm themselves beside a small fire in a barbecue on the porch of a house.]()
Read moreKarla Perez and Esperanza Gonzalez warm up by a barbecue grill during a power outage in Houston on February 16, 2021. #
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![Two people carry a large turtle inside a building, placing on the floor near dozens of other turtles.]()
Read morePeople place rescued turtles stunned by cold weather in an evacuation center in South Padre Island, Texas, in this still image from a video, on February 15, 2021. #
Ed Caum City Of South Padre Island Convention And Visitors Bureau via Reuters -
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![Service trucks park along a snowy road, near power lines.]()
Read morePike Electric service trucks line up after a snow storm on February 16, 2021 in Fort Worth, Texas. #
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![A person stands knee-deep in slushy water as they chop at ice in a frozen fountain.]()
Read moreKaleb Love, a worker from the city of Richardson, breaks ice in a frozen fountain in Richardson, Texas, on February 16, 2021. #
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![A man sleds on a light coating of snow in front of the buildings of downtown Houston.]()
Read moreA man slides down a snow-covered hill in Houston, Texas, on February 15, 2021. #
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![Several people sled down a snow-covered street, as a couple of dozen bystanders watch.]()
Read morePeople sled down a hill after a snowstorm on February 17, 2021, in Fort Worth. #
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![About five people push a car stuck in the snow.]()
Read moreEast Austin residents push a car out of the snow on February 15, 2021. #
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![A tent is visible under an overpass, with icicles hanging from several supports.]()
Read moreA homeless camp under a bridge on I-35 in Austin, Texas, photographed on a cold day, February 17, 2021 #
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![People stand in line in a parking lot, wrapped in blankets and plastic sheets.]()
Read morePeople wait in line to fill propane tanks in Houston on February 17, 2021. Customers waited over an hour in the freezing rain to fill their tanks. #
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![A woman has a spoonful of soup as her young son watches from her lap.]()
Read moreKristen Young sips a spoonful of soup as her 1-year-old son Shawn watches at a warming center they visited after two days without electricity, in Beltway Park North Church in Abilene, Texas, on February 15, 2021. #
Ronald W. Erdrich / Reporter-News via Reuters -
![People select garments being given away inside a furniture store.]()
Read morePeople select shirts and sweatshirts being given away at a Gallery Furniture store, after the owner opened his business as a shelter for those without power at their homes, on February 16, 2021, in Houston. #
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![A man wearing a small blanket over his head sits at a floor display desk with displays of office furniture behind him, while sheltering in a furniture store.]()
Read moreMichael Singletary rests behind a desk at a Gallery Furniture store that opened as a shelter for those without power on February 17, 2021, in Houston. #
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![Four people in warm and comfortable clothes rest in floor display recliners in a furniture store.]()
Read morePeople with no power at their homes rest inside a Gallery Furniture store that opened as a shelter on February 16, 2021, in Houston. #
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![A person directs a long line of cars in a residential street.]()
Read moreResidents line up in their vehicles to enter a warming center and shelter after record-breaking winter temperatures, as local media reports most residents are without electricity, in Galveston, Texas, on February 17, 2021. #
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![People hand out packs of bottled water in a residential area.]()
Read moreVolunteers help distribute water to local residents at a warming center and shelter after record-breaking winter temperatures, in Galveston on February 17, 2021. #
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![Several people shop in a grocery store under dim lighting.]()
Read morePeople shop in a darkened Fiesta supermarket on February 16, 2021, in Houston. #
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![A man wipes a tear from his eye, seated on bleachers in a shelter.]()
Read moreDavid Mudge wipes away a tear while taking refuge in a shelter in Galveston on February 18, 2021. #
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![Light comes from inside a house on a dark night, with snow covering the yard and nearby street.]()
Read moreSnow covers the ground in Waco, Texas, on February 17, 2021, as severe winter weather conditions over the last few days led to road closures and power outages over the state. #
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![A man leans back, enjoying a beer, while sitting on an innertube that is being towed down a street by a truck at night .]()
Read moreKeith Hernandez drinks a beer as his friends pull him with their truck on a snow-covered road in Waco on February 17, 2021. #
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![A man plays guitar in a living room for his family who are bundled up under a blanket on a couch.]()
Read moreBrett Archibald, whose home was without electric power following severe winter weather, tries to entertain his family as they try to stay warm in their home in the Blackhawk neighborhood of Pflugerville, Texas, on February 16, 2021. #
Ricardo B. Brazziell / American-Statesman via Reuters -
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