Social Disparities in the Duration of Power and Piped Water Outages in Texas After Winter Storm Uri

Abstract

We assessed sociodemographic disparities in basic service disruptions caused by Winter Storm Uri in Texas. We collected data through a bilingual telephone survey conducted in July 2021 (n  = 753). Being Black, having children, and renting one’s residence were associated with longer power outage durations; being Black was also associated with longer water outages. Our findings highlight the need to plan for and ameliorate inequitable service outages and their attendant health risks in climate change–related extreme weather events such as Uri. (Am J Public Health. 2023;113(1):30–34. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2022.307110 )