Texas storm, power loss toll put at 111

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas officials Thursday raised the death toll from February’s winter storm and blackouts to at least 111 people — nearly doubling the state’s initial tally after one of the worst power failures in U.S. history.

Texas officials earlier this month put the initial tally of deaths at 57 but warned that it would increase. The toll now officially exceeds Hurricane Harvey in 2017, which was blamed for 68 deaths in Texas.

The majority of the deaths are associated with hypothermia, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. And the spike in the number victims is still a potential undercount, as officials continue investigating deaths that happened around the time the storm knocked out power to more than 4 million customers in Texas.

Many homes went without power or drinkable water for days after subfreezing temperatures, failing power plants and record demand for heat pushed Texas’ electric grid to the breaking point.

Fatalities were reported nearly as far north as Oklahoma while others were close to the U.S.-Mexico border. The most confirmed deaths occurred around Houston, where Harris County officials have reported at least 31 victims.

Several lawsuits have been filed against the managers of the state’s embattled electric grid, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. The disaster also led to a congressional investigation and the ouster of council CEO Bill Magness.