Texas Storm Situation Worsens as Hospitals Lose Power and Water Pressure

Things are turning from bad to worse in Texas this week, after a brutal winter storm tore across the Lone Star State.

Winter Storm Uri brought nearly unheard-of conditions to Texas, with snow and single digit temperatures blanketing most of the large metro areas.  Power companies hoped to avoid serious complications by executing rolling blackouts throughout the weather event, but, for reasons not yet fully known, failed miserably.  Now there are dozens of Texans dead, and millions more suffering in both the cold and through the extraneous troubles that have arisen – such as widespread boil-water advisories that were put into place after water treatment plants were affected by the prolonged power outages.

Now, in a terrifying turn for the worse, some hospitals are beginning to lose heat and water pressure.

St. David’s South Austin Medical Center is suffering from a loss of water pressure and heat and is taking several steps to get water to the hospital, officials said Wednesday evening.

In an email, David Huffstutler, CEO of St. David’s HealthCare, said the facility’s boiler depends on water, contributing to falling temperatures inside.

The water issue is also impacting “a number of other hospitals in the area,” he said.

“Because this is a state-wide emergency situation that is also impacting other hospitals within the Austin area, no one hospital currently has the capacity to accept transport of a large number of patients,” the statement said.

The email did not say which other facilities are facing problems. But officials with Ascension Seton Southwest Hospital, in Southwest Austin, said they are also facing intermittent issues with water pressure. Effective immediately, the hospital is rescheduling elective surgeries to preserve bed capacity and personnel, according to a statement from Ascension Seton.

Power company authorities have stated that parts of the grid were mere minutes away from complete destruction during the height of the storm.