UTAH, Feb. 22, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — American Red Cross of Utah volunteers have virtually deployed to help those in need in Texas.
“Volunteers from Utah have virtually deployed to help our friends in Texas,” said a tweet. “Red Cross Texas Gulf Coast, Red Cross Central Texas and Red Cross Greater North Texas have been working to provide food, water, health services and shelter to those Texans who are still without power. #TexasStrong #StaySafe.”
The Red Cross has seen an uptick in virtual volunteering during the pandemic. The Red Cross website says: “In times of disaster or social isolation it can be difficult for people to leave their homes to volunteer in the community. Even while staying home, there is opportunity to support the Red Cross mission virtually. We have a wide range of volunteer opportunities in which volunteers can engage remotely.”
As of Monday morning, about 11,000 customers statewide in Texas remained without electricity, according to UPI. Last week, at peak disruption, more than 4 million in the state were in the dark — as well as hundreds of thousands in neighboring Louisiana and Mississippi.
About 10 million people in Texas are still without safe drinking water Monday. The state lifted water boiling notices Sunday for about 5 million of the 15 million people originally under the order, the Commission on Environmental Quality said.
The emergency started last week after a rare bout of freezing cold temperatures, snow and ice arrived in Texas and crippled many of the state’s basic services, like water and power. The outage also affected water treatment plants, which were forced to shut down.
