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Twenty million people are in the storm’s path and more than 500,000 people have been told to evacuate low lying areas even as the COVID pandemic makes it difficult to house them safely in crowded temporary group shelters.
He urged all Texans in the storm’s path to “Remember, just because a hurricane is coming to Texas, does not mean that Covid-19 either has or is going to leave Texas,” and he told them to continue to maintain social distancing and wear face masks.
Why This Matters: A category 4 storm is bad enough, but to have to deal with evacuating half a million people, many of them poor, during a pandemic is beyond challenging. And the damage to the energy sector could be extensive.
COVID enormously complicates this disaster and there is likely to be a surge in cases as a result. Houston, which will likely be impacted, is very vulnerable to flooding, and there are huge oil and gas operations that must withstand the storm unlike any they have seen in more than a decade.
Where is the President’s focus during this emergency? Not here.
If you live in the region, we hope you stay safe.
Texas: What’s In The Path of the Storm
As of now, the storm is forecast to hit East Texas and Western Louisiana — right around the border. Right in its path is Port Arthur, Texas, which has the nation’s largest oil refinery. And there are many large oil and gas facilities drilling and pumping offshore in the Gulf of Mexico also in the storm’s path — and they have also been evacuated. Thousands of first responders and emergency workers, including the National Guard, are ready to respond during and after the storm with motorboats, aircraft, and other equipment. The state of Texas is setting up large shelters throughout the hurricane zone where they are trying to ensure social distancing.
Louisiana: Significant Flooding In Places Not Usually Seen
by Natasha Lasky, ODP Staff Writer This March will continue to bring more severe weather to the United States. An atmospheric river event — the “Pineapple Express” — is forecast to induce a rainy season in Washington and Oregon, as well as an increased risk of avalanches in the Pacific Northwest. As the Pineapple Express […]
We feel so badly for everyone in Texas suffering through days of bitter cold, many without heat. But the people at the northern U.S. end of the polar vortex are reeling from the cold as well. Low-temperature records are being broken in the northern plains — it’s so cold there that even Siberia was warmer. […]
After snowstorms swept across the South this week, 14 states are expecting power outages, frozen roads, and dangerous conditions. Hundreds of millions will be impacted by the storm. Millions will be experiencing rolling blackouts in the coming days due to stress on the Southwest Power Pool (SPP).
Why This Matters: Although it might seem that this polar vortex is an exception to global temperature rise, research says that erratic, far-reaching polar systems like the one we’re seeing now can be directly related to warming temperatures in the Arctic.
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