(GNB Desk): Texans are busy preparing for what is expected to be a historic winter storm. A rare winter storm in Texas has knocked out nearly half the wind-power generating capacity of Texas, with temperatures plummeting to -5C around Houston and Dallas. On Monday, rolling power outages were also brought in by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and at least 2 million customers have lost electricity according to PowerOutage.US.
As temperatures across the state hit record lows, Governor Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for every county in the state.
On Sunday evening, President Joe Biden declared that an emergency exists in the State of Texas and ordered federal assistance to supplement state and local response efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting from a severe winter storm beginning on February 11, 2021, and continuing.
The President’s action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, and to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in all 254 Texas counties.
Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment, and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency. Emergency protective measures for mass care and sheltering and direct federal assistance will be provided at 75 percent federal funding.
A global media for the latest news, entertainment, music fashion, and more.
