… Millions of Texans whose health and finances were already battered by a year of Covid-19 now face a grinding recovery from a storm estimated to cost upward of $20 billion, the costliest in state history…

Texas is roughly the size of France combined with Switzerland. At one point, during the week of February 15, every one of the state’s 254 counties was under a freeze warning.

A week later, on February 22 (yesterday), this was the status:

… Gas stations were without fuel, grocery store shelves were empty and long lines formed in the early-morning darkness at food distribution sites. About 8.6 million people were still being told to boil their drinking water, and about 120,000 others had no water at all as plumbers and water utilities battled an epidemic of leaky, broken pipes.

(Jack Healy, “‘Like We’re Being Cursed’: First Covid and Now Waterlogged Homes,” NYTimes, 2-22-21)

(c) 2021 JMN