With clearing the snow Texas after days of unusually cold temperatures, bodies of people likely to have died are found
frozen as they struggled to stay warm after the power went out in millions of homes.
Of the approximately 70 deaths from snow, ice, and freezing temperatures across the country, more than a dozen people died in homes that had lost their warmth, and most of them were in the state.
Among them is an 11-year-old boy who died in his bed in Conroe, near Houston, and two older men were found dead in their homes in Buffalo Gap, West Texas, in Taylor County.
Taylor County Sheriff Ricky Bishop said his office has been receiving many phone calls in recent days asking to check on friends or family who may be suffering from the outage.
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“I can probably think of a point in an hour where we’ll probably get 10 of those calls,” he said, adding that some of the county’s roads were covered in four-inch snowstorms.
Matt Zavadsky, a spokesperson for ambulance provider MedStar in the Fort Worth area, said most of the hypothermia calls they received came from people in their own homes, where the temperature had dropped to 50 degrees or below.
MedStar peaked at 77 hypothermia on Wednesday, Zavadsky said. Some people reported numbness in their hands and feet, while others had more severe symptoms.
“There were people who had been so cold for so long that they were shaking uncontrollably, it is possible they had a decreased level of consciousness, which is not uncommon if you have been hypothermic for an extended period,” he said.
Photo: AFP
Some of those who were taken to hospitals had reached the point where they were no longer shaking, “which is a very bad sign,” Zavadsky said.
Initially, the body will try to generate heat by shivering and increase your heart rate. But as the internal temperature continues to drop, “those things start to drop,” said Dr. Jeff Pothof, an emergency room physician at UW Health in Madison, Wisconsin. The body will restrict blood circulation to the limbs to keep the blood central and the internal organs warm.
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If untreated, hypothermia begins to affect the brain, making it difficult to think clearly or move easily.
“He may not understand exactly what’s going on,” said Potfhof. “And that’s a vicious circle because you can’t take the action you need.”
Some of the older people who died in Texas were found outdoors. It was not immediately clear what prompted them to leave.
Poor circulation ultimately prevents the heart, brain and other vital organs from functioning, leading to death. About 32 people
die annually from the cold in the United States, according to the National Weather Service.
Prolonged single-digit low temperatures, like those Texans experienced this week, can be especially dangerous, said Dr. Robert Glatter, an emergency physician at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. He said body temperature naturally drops at night.
“He can crawl,” he said, especially when the confusion starts to build. “Their ability to think clearly isn’t very good, so people may not be aware of these signs and symptoms.”
Babies, children and the elderly are most at risk of hypothermia due to poor circulation and temperature regulation. People with heart problems, asthma, emphysema, chronic lung disease, diabetes and smoking are also vulnerable.
Some strategies for staying covered can be more dangerous than helpful.
Wrapping too much under blankets or layers of clothing can be dangerous if it causes excessive sweating, which can dissipate heat away from the body.
And during power outages due to weather, people can run propane heaters, run generators, or burn charcoal or wood indoors – all of which can lead to dangerous fires or deadly carbon monoxide poisoning.
“These are all disasters,” said Glatte.
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