TBM Disaster Relief teams have sprung into action after a historic winter storm plunged all of Texas temperatures below freezing, pushing the state’s electrical grid to the brink and breaking water pipes statewide.
More than 7 million Texans had water-related issues on Feb. 17, according to media reports. Rolling blackouts continue in many parts of the state as the power grid attempts to meet the spike in demand as Texans seek to stay warm in the record-breaking cold.
Photos of icicles inside Texas houses have gone viral and people are waiting hours for groceries, firewood and gas. Some homes have dropped to temperatures in the 40s as a result of prolonged power loss.
“This is truly a statewide emergency in every sense of the word,” said TBM Disaster Relief Director David Wells. “Every city, every region of Texas is being affected. We are seeking to provide help, hope and healing as quickly as possible.”
TBM teams and units are responding across the state:
- TBM is deploying a shower/laundry unit to a Cedar Hill apartment complex that houses 700 people. It has electricity, but many of its pipes have broken. The unit will give residents a way to take a hot shower and get their laundry done by TBM volunteers. The city of Cedar Hill also requested a large TBM generator in another location to serve its citizens.
- A generator and TBM electronic support unit have been dispatched and returned in support of a warming station at First Baptist Church in Edgewood.
- East Texas TBM volunteers are feeding locally.
- The TBM Comanche Shower Unit is meeting needs locally.
- TBM has sent bottled water to East Texas Baptist University, Sharing Life Ministries in Mesquite as well as churches in the Houston area to help people without access to drinking water.
- TBM is also in the process of sending shower/laundry units to Marble Falls as well as Allen to meet needs there.
“People are hurting,” Wells said. “They tired. They’re overwhelmed by the situation. We are mobilizing volunteers to meet their needs, help them and lift their spirits.”
TBM Disaster Relief is made possible by prayer and financial support. 100 percent of gifts to TBM Disaster Relief support disaster relief ministry. To give online, visit tbmtx.org. To give via check, send it to Texas Baptist Men, 5351 Catron Dr., Dallas, Texas 75227.