Lethal Texan cold snap is 'crazy to see,' says Labradorian living through it

An aberrant winter storm that has brought parts of the United States to its knees has two cold weather veterans from Newfoundland and Labrador wondering what to make of the crisis.

Millions of people struggled to stay warm and fed without power Wednesday, after snow and frigid temperatures knockedmuch of Texas off the grid. At least 30 people have died so far from collisions and gas poisoningin the region during an extreme cold snap this week.

A Labradorian in the thick of it all described the confusion of living through the ordeal.

"We all knew it was coming, but everyone Iguess thought,'Hey, it's Texas,weather changes really quickly, it's not going to be this bad,'" said Emily Scott, who lives with her husband in Abilene,a city about 300 kilometres west of Dallas.

"Oh boy, were we wrong."

Scott originally from Labrador City, and well-accustomed to living through intense storms and cold snapssaid that while she stocked up on firewood, her neighbours were less prepared.

So is Texan infrastructure.

"Our houses here are really not built for this," she said. Pipes have frozen and burst, and rolling blackoutsmean the city's treatment plants can't run. Nothing is coming out of the taps, she said, and hasn't for two days.

Scott has relayed her Canadian knowledge of winter outages to her neighbours, passing on a simple trick: When the power flickers on, heat up pots of snow for toilet-flushing.

"It's really crazy to see, because at home this is not an issue," Scott said."We know people that have had to sleep in their cars because they lost power."

Lights out everywhere

Andre Sampson, a drilling technology sales manager who's in Houston for work, doesn't have the luxury of potsor a fireplace. He's lived in hotels since he landed in Texas last month.

"Houston is pretty eerie," he said. "It's completely pitch black because of the power outage."

Sampson, who lives in Bay Roberts, says food on the shelves in Houston is dwindling. Because the city doesn't have snow plows, driving isn't really an option, either.

"It's definitely going to be a challenge for this city and the state," he said.

"Alot of people have no idea what to do," Scott said, recounting the tragedies she's been hearing on the radio: the family who watched their house burn down, the couple who heated their living room with a generator and died from carbon monoxide poisoning.

She's struck by those stories, and worries more harm could come to the region."They're saying now that it could be a month [that] people could be without power," she said.

"I'm ready to come back home. At least you guys can handle the cold."

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