After a severe ice storm left many Texans without power last week, Governor Greg Abbott has issued a disaster declaration for the seven counties hit hardest by the weather: Denton, Hays, Henderson, Milam, Smith, Travis and Williamson county. The declaration should enable the state to provide assistance to those with property damage from the storm.
The ice storm knocked out power for thousands of residents in Austin and the surrounding areas due to the precipitation and freezing across the state. Last Thursday, 400,000 customers across Texas were without power, with 155,000 falling in the Austin Energy service area.
As the increasingly frequent severe storms in Texas are exposing weaknesses in the state's infrastructure, Texas cities are debating costly infrastructure investments. "The challenge for city and state leaders is to decide how much money to invest in preparing for winter weather that only occurs once or twice a year, on average."
A study from the University of Texas at Austin found that communication and infrastructure improvements are essential to winter storm recovery. Researchers interviewed 20 central Texas utility companies to study the progress they have made since Winter Storm Uri. They found that the companies made the most improvements in governance and infrastructure, but still struggle with public communication issues.
The latest TWDB Drought Map shows improvement in North, East, and Central Texas, but degradation in areas of Central and South Texas. For the first time in six weeks, the area of the state affected by drought has decreased from the previous week.