More Than 1 Million Americans Without Power As Storms Rage

At least 24 people have died and millions left without power as a result of extreme weather across five states in the last several weeks.

Upwards of 1,070,000 customers across Texas were without power Tuesday as storms ravaged the state, following weeks of similarly extreme weather events across the US. Nearly a third of power cuts on Tuesday were within Dallas County, where hundreds of flights were delayed or canceled. “This unfortunately will be a multi-day power outage situation,” Dallas County judge Clay Jenkins told local news outlets, according to the BBC. “Because this is going to be unfortunately longer than we’ve seen here in a while and a lot of the places that are without power are going to include hotels and things of that nature.”

The storms continued into Wednesday, with the National Weather Service (NWS) issuing ongoing severe thunderstorm threats. NWS noted the potential for flash flooding throughout parts of northern and central Texas and southern Oklahoma. An early-season heat wave hit during the storms, leaving voters in the state’s runoff elections without power at their polling places, The Associated Press reported. Some nursing homes and other essential services were using generators to keep people safe.

Modern Life Demands A Safe Grid

Seven people were confirmed killed by the storms in Texas, with more than 100 injured. Three of those killed were children aged two, five, and nine. A teenager was also killed in Montgomery County, law enforcement told reporters. Storm-related deaths were also reported in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kentucky, North Carolina, Virginia, and Alabama. (LEARN MORE: Interview Suggests New Evidence On Voter Machine Issues In 2020)

In a recent letter to NWS director Kenneth Graham, eight Members of Congress noted a series of concerns over the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) recent technology outages. “On multiple occurrences this year, some of NWS life-saving services, including radar data, the Automated Surface Observing System, and transmitters of NOAA Weather Radio, have been reported as nonfunctional for extended periods of time,” the lawmakers wrote. “These outages have impacted NWS Weather Forecast Offices and the public at large, removing critical tools for observation and communicating severe weather.”

Importance Of Functional Tech

The lawmakers noted how despite NOAA’s budget increase of 18% over the last 5 years, there are still many occasions when forecasts and emergency alerts are down for portions of the country. With dependency on technology at an all-time high, most people use NWS and NOAA services to assess the level of risk they face during extreme weather events. If these technologies are not working, people’s lives are at stake. Similarly, when these events do occur, they pose ongoing threats to the power grid. (LEARN MORE: State Finds County Violated Election Law In 2022)

Did you know that you can lobby your local, state, and federally elected officials into securing our power grid infrastructure and emergency services today? Most people think the only thing they can do to make a difference to their safety is vote. And while safe and secure elections are arguably the most important and valuable process for American democracy, it doesn’t start and end at the ballot box.

We can tell your leaders what you want from their time in office, and what you expect from our federal government. Letter-writing campaigns, or even just a single letter, can be enough to sway policy and prompt investigations.

Sign up for www.millionvoices.org today (text MV to 80550) and share this article with your friends and family so they can stay informed and become citizen lobbyists in the pursuit of faith and freedom across our great nation.