CW: Mental Illness & Death
Hurricane Beryl, a Category 1 hurricane, cut off power to almost 2.7 million customers after making landfall in Texas on Monday. An official with Houston’s largest power company said Thursday that approximately 500,000 customers will continue to be without power until next week. Widespread outages linger and people’s frustration grows over the slow pace of restoration.
Many of the residents of the Timber Top Condominiums in northwest Harris County, Texas, are elderly or disabled. On Wednesday, the generator failed at the complex. It does not provide electricity to the individual units. However, it is utilized to power the lobby and one of the elevators, allowing the residents access to air conditioning and power outlets.
While the manager worked to repair the generator, tenants had to use the stairwell to get in and out of their apartments. One woman in her eighties walked up and down from the eighth floor.
“There’s people in their 80s and upper 90s who can’t take this heat at all,” said one tenant. “The managers, they’ve been feeding us and we have enough water. They’re trying to do their best,” said another.
According to the Southeast Texas Regional Advisory Council, at least 50 nursing homes and 66 assisted living facilities remained without power as of yesterday. They are among the more than 923,000 CenterPoint customers who still do not have power days after Hurricane Beryl hit the Houston area.
Families are growing increasingly concerned about their loved ones who live in these facilities.
Janet Martinez said her parents are both in their 80s. They are residents at St. James House of Baytown.
“My dad’s on oxygen, my mom requires medication that has to be chilled and the ice only lasts so long in the ice chest,” she said. “They’re sitting in there and it’s so hot. It’s concerning. These facilities should take priority” she told KHOU 11. She is considering moving her parents into a hotel until the power can be restored.
Texas state law does not require assisted living facilities to have generators. Although nursing homes are required to have them. In a press conference yesterday, state emergency management officials expressed their concerns about these facilities affected by Hurricane Beryl.
In response to press questioning, Nim Kidd, Texas Director of Emergency Management, said that the state would hold managers of facilities accountable if they failed to keep residents safe. “That location is responsible for the health, safety, and welfare of the patients and residents that are there, it is that facility’s responsibility,” he said.
For disabled and elderly people, natural disasters can pose extra challenges. Research shows that disabled people are two to four times more likely to die or receive serious injuries during disasters.
Extreme heat can be deadly for disabled and elderly people. One study done by the American Geophysical Union found that during the EHE,(extreme heat event) in 2022, people with schizophrenia were much more at risk of serious illness or death than the general population.
Antipsychotic medications such as quetiapine, haloperidol, and risperidone, are commonly prescribed to treat schizophrenia. Antipsychotic medications can also impair thermoregulation.
In addition, those with mental illnesses are more likely to die during heat waves due to issues controlling their body temperature, as well as stigma and social marginalization, which may limit their access to support networks.
People with chronic renal disease and ischemic heart disease are also at a higher risk. Aging can put people at higher risk of developing heart disease, and renal disease.
According to the American Heart Association on Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics in 2019, the incidence of cardiovascular diseases was typically 35-40% in people between the ages of 40 and 60; patients between the ages of 60 and 80 had an average incidence of 77-80%; and patients over the age of 80 had an incidence of over 85%.
For renal disease the numbers are similar. In Canada, 75% of people newly diagnosed with grade four kidney disease were 70 years of age or older according to a study published in the Canadian Journal of Kidney Health and Disease.
The impact of Hurricane Beryl has been devastating for millions of Texans. Hopefully, people will have their power restored soon. Disabled people should be considered when developing emergency plans because nobody should be left behind.
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