People on breathing machines struggle without power after weather disasters
Extreme weather is making power outages longer and more frequent across the U.S. People with health conditions who depend on medical devices powered by electricity are particularly vulnerable.
HOUSTON — Kimberly Rubit had one priority in mind as Hurricane Beryl ripped through Houston this summer: her severely disabled daughter. The 63-year-old worked tirelessly to keep Mary, age 42, from overheating after the storm knocked out power to their home for ten days. During this extended outage, at least three dozen other people suffered heat-related deaths. “It was miserable,” Rubit shared. “I’m sick of it.”
Recent analyses reveal electric grids are buckling more frequently as the warming atmosphere carries more water, generating devastating storms. Just last week, the Pacific Northwest faced outages affecting around half a million due to what’s termed as a “bomb cyclone.” For many individuals with disabilities and chronic health conditions, these situations transform quickly from inconvenient to life-threatening. Diana Hernandez, a sociomedical sciences professor at Columbia University, highlights how many of these households lack weatherizing measures and backup power. “At any point, one out of three houses is attempting to evade disconnection or coping with the aftermath,” Hernandez explained.
With another winter around the corner, residents of Texas remain haunted by memories of the deadly blackout caused by intense cold during February 2021. That devastating event left millions powerless for days and resulted in over 200 fatalities. While efforts have been made to fortify the power system since then, concerns persist about the possibility of similar blackouts and rolling outages when extreme weather strikes again. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which oversees most of the state’s power grid, acknowledges such fears are not unfounded.
Hurricane Beryl left millions without electricity for days, leading to rising illness levels due to sweltering heat. Local and state officials criticized CenterPoint Energy, Houston’s power utility, asserting it should have communicated effectively, trimmed trees before the storm, and reacted faster to repair fallen lines. The Texas attorney general is currently investigating the utility’s response.
CenterPoint states it’s now focused on enhancing consumer communication, building resilience, and fostering community partnerships. Their main goal? “To build the most resilient coastal grid in the country to withstand future extreme weather.”
Meanwhile, discussions are underway among Texas lawmakers about introducing stricter regulations for assisted living facilities. One recommendation includes mandatorily ensuring these centers have adequate emergency generator fuel to power lifesaving equipment and maintain safe indoor temperatures during prolonged blackouts. This step follows legislation passed by Florida after nursing homes faced scrutiny during previous hurricane-related deaths.
Emergency response evaluations have indicated regulated facilities and nursing homes managed crises more effectively compared to less supervised environments such as senior communities, which can easily lose power and food. This leaves hundreds of retirement communities and private residences at risk.
“We need to create identifiers for these facilities and input them within the dispatch systems,” stated Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management. “There are so many locations within our city unknown to emergency dispatch until the 911 call is made.”
Some Texas energy firms have been mandated since 2003 to inform medically vulnerable homes of scheduled outages, provided they submit forms approved by their physicians. Unfortunately, this law does not necessitate the utilities to supply these lists to emergency management agencies. Similar protective policies exist across various states, with 38 implementing regulations against disconnections amid extreme weather.
For individuals like Rubit and her daughter, who is one of roughly 3,000 households reliant on power for medical devices, the situation is dire. The utility attempts to offer assistance, including payment plans to prevent disconnections for those struggling to keep their electricity on.
Yet, these efforts do little to alleviate the fears of community members residing at the Commons of Grace living center for seniors, which has reported frequent outages since well before Hurricane Beryl’s arrival. Belinda Taylor, who manages the center through her nonprofit, expressed frustration over the lack of support, “I’m just frustrated. We didn’t get the services we needed — it’s unacceptable.”
Sharon Burks, who lives at the Commons, revealed it became unbearable when the power failed. At 63 years old, she relies on a breathing machine to manage her chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which causes shortness of breath. During the outages, she was forced to use her battery-operated breathing pump, which is not meant for extended use. “I didn’t expect anything from CenterPoint,” Burks said. “We’re always the last to get it.”
These accounts punctuate the urgent need for infrastructural reform, as more intense weather patterns due to climate change increasingly disrupt access to basic utilities. The intersection of health, welfare, and energy reliability emerges as alarmingly poignant, especially for those inherently dependent on such systems for survival.
