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sl8

(16,161 posts)
Sun Jul 21, 2024, 06:38 AM Jul 21

Heat-related Texas deaths climb after Beryl left millions without power for days or longer

https://apnews.com/article/houston-power-outages-death-toll-53a403fec3ffdf34daeb8d5e179953ba

Heat-related Texas deaths climb after Beryl left millions without power for days or longer

BY JAMIE STENGLE AND LEKAN OYEKANMI
Updated 1:32 AM EDT, July 21, 2024

[...]

The combination of searing summer heat and residents unable to power up air conditioning in the days after the Category 1 storm made landfall on July 8 resulted in increasingly dangerous conditions for some in America’s fourth-largest city.

[...]

When will a complete death toll be known?

[...]

Officials are still working to determine if some deaths that have already occurred should be considered storm related. But even when those numbers come in, getting a clear picture of the storm’s toll could take much more time.

Lara Anton, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of State Health Services, which uses death certificate data to identify storm-related deaths, estimated that it may not be until the end of July before they have even a preliminary count.

[...]

Experts say that while a count of storm-related fatalities compiled from death certificates is useful, an analysis of excess deaths that occurred during and after the storm can give a more complete picture of the toll. For that, researchers compare the number of people who died in that period to how many would have been expected to die under normal conditions.

[...]

8 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Heat-related Texas deaths climb after Beryl left millions without power for days or longer (Original Post) sl8 Jul 21 OP
Just the beginning. Think. Again. Jul 21 #1
Yes I agree. Irish_Dem Jul 21 #3
I recall that after Katrina, it was Houston that took in many Lousiana folks who riversedge Jul 21 #2
Yes, some of the Katrina refugees were in my classes. ananda Jul 21 #5
A complete death toll will never be known. That's the Republican way. live love laugh Jul 21 #4
I wonder duncang Jul 21 #6
A contributing factor might be... GiqueCee Jul 21 #7
Remember Bolivar. TBF Jul 24 #8

riversedge

(72,258 posts)
2. I recall that after Katrina, it was Houston that took in many Lousiana folks who
Sun Jul 21, 2024, 07:10 AM
Jul 21

had no homes to go back to. Now Houston has it own suffering. Plus they are ruled over by vile Gov Abbott and his Repugs in their legislature.

ananda

(30,174 posts)
5. Yes, some of the Katrina refugees were in my classes.
Sun Jul 21, 2024, 07:58 AM
Jul 21

As for Beryl, Abbott and Patrick did not ask for disaster relief
until Patrick finally answered Biden's phone call.

Ugly.

duncang

(3,000 posts)
6. I wonder
Sun Jul 21, 2024, 08:45 AM
Jul 21

If there have also been deaths or serious medical problems with all the power being out to pharmacies. I was lucky since I had enough to make it through with my medications.

GiqueCee

(1,213 posts)
7. A contributing factor might be...
Sun Jul 21, 2024, 09:15 AM
Jul 21

... that the embodiment of pure, malignant evil, also known as Governor Greg Abbott, rescinded laws requiring employers and state agency chiefs to provide water and cooling-off breaks for outdoor workers, especially during periods of extreme heat.

It is possible that the number of Texans who wish that tree had been bigger, is increasing in direct proportion to the number of Texans that died because of Abbott's actions, not to mention gross negligence.

Sooner or later, Texans will have to smarten the fuck up, roll Abbott to the curb, and elect someone as governor who actually put the welfare of Texans ahead of the malign interests of corporatists. That someone would have to be a Democrat, cuz they ain't no Republican that would be caught dead doing good.

TBF

(33,499 posts)
8. Remember Bolivar.
Wed Jul 24, 2024, 12:52 PM
Jul 24

We did ok during Beryl we were without power about 24 hours, and actually a little longer without internet! We live in the suburbs south of Houston, have reliable vehicles, found places to eat & get back on our phones (they were charged in our car and via power banks). Suburban folks can deal to some degree, even though it's painful to throw away all the food you lose. Some even have whole house generators, or portables to run things like the refrigerator and not lose as much. But there are so many people who are also not in that position. If you have any sort of medical condition & could get to an ER, that is probably where you would go to seek a/c, oxygen, and whatever else you need. If you have the means to get there. I'm sure we will never get a full death count because there are folks who are somewhat off the grid and/or no one to look for them.

Re Boliver -- There was a big thing with Hurricane Ike years ago - I remember it vividly because Texas Equ-search had some fliers up looking for people who seemed to be missing from Boliver Island. Cat 2 Hurricane, strong storm surge, and I noticed when I was checking the Galveston press that after a point nobody could even get to Galveston (they stopped traffic in/out of the Island). Bolivar is beyond that, it's a peninsula that folks would get to via ferry from Galveston. It jutts out into the gulf, so the surge would have cut right over it. It's unlikely that folks on the peninsula survived that surge. This was the quote in Wiki about deaths: "As of December 27, 2008, 37 people are known to have died in Texas due to Ike while hundreds are still missing."

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