When families all over Texas were hit with a surge of freezing temperatures, icy roads, and rolling power outages, countless were left without basic needs for several days.

These issues started for many Klein residents on Feb. 14, and they worsened as the week went on. Additionally, while some households lost water from busted water pipes, others went under a boil water notice.

“The boil water notice was frustrating.” freshman Emily Sims said. “Every time we wanted to do something like brush our teeth or cook food, we had to get water bottles, and we had like four cases of water bottles in our pantry. The water company lowered our water pressure before the boil water notice so that other people could have water.”

Junior Bearkat Paige Pace, like many Texans during the freeze, faced water issues after the main water in her house busted.

“I was the one who found out as I was about to go upstairs,” she said. “I turned around and I saw water coming out of the ceiling. At first, we didn’t know exactly where the water was coming from, because it was coming out of the vents. My dad eventually turned off the main water. He couldn’t find it for a while, so almost an inch of water got on the floor. [My dad] shut [the main pipe] off, and we cleaned all of the water up. Our neighbor, who is a plumber, came in and fixed our pipes.”

Texans everywhere were forced to find food and water at distribution sites across the state, and others took in friends and family members in need into their homes.

“If it wasn’t for [my neighbor], we would have been without water for a while because all of the plumbers are so busy right now. We would have been kind of stuck,” Pace said.

Fortunately, Texans can help their neighbors out by collecting and donating non-perishable items to families who lost their water, power, and homes during the storm.  Along with that, those who are still struggling can find resources through these links to get the supplies that they need. Because many families are still in distress many weeks after the storm, it is becoming more crucial than ever to help them out.

Volunteer Opportunities

https://kidsmealsinc.org/
https://www.houstonfoodbank.org/find-help/agency-locator/

Additional Resources

https://www.houston.org/news/resources-business-and-residents-aftermath-winter-storm

Https://www.readyharris.org/Incidents/Winter-Weather-Recovery-Resources