246 people died during the Texas freeze of 2021

Extreme cold disproportionately affects the most vulnerable people in a population and many southern regions aren’t prepared with the infrastructure to manage such a freeze from Arctic air. One recent example is the historic cold outbreak over the Great Plains region of the United States, particularly Texas, lasting from February 6th to February 18th, 2021. 246 people died during the Texas freeze of 2021, many from hypothermia. People of color and lowincome communities were disproportionately affected by this conflict, especially in experiencing the most blackouts and burst pipes, and faced a long and difficult journey to recovery even after power and water were restored. The unprecedented freeze exacerbated preexisting poor infrastructure and lack of resources in those marginalized communities.

This is not an isolated incident, and draws back on the systemic bias, racism, and antipoverty mindset embedded in American systems. Researchers from Rice University in Houston and the University of Pittsburgh found that post-disaster assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency is distributed unevenly. According to their research, white communities see higher levels of reinvestment post-disaster. With the threat of polar vortex-induced freezes, in addition to the general extreme and unnatural weather phenomena prompted by continued global warming, the issue of equitable emergency aid is more urgent than ever.

https://www.eesi.org/briefings/view/04 1322climatechange https://scied.ucar.edu/learningzone/climate-change-impacts/whypolar-vortex-keeps-breaking-out-arctic https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/ nation/2021/02/20/texas-ice-stormblackouts-minorities-hardest-hitrecovery/4507638001/