AUSTIN, Texas — From Feb. 11 to Feb. 22, the Travis County Medical Examiner's Office processed more than 90 deaths. The total amount of deaths reported could include car crashes, natural causes or possible cold weather-related deaths.
As of July 7, at least 18 of those deaths could be attributed in some way to the storms.
In the Austin area, nine elderly people died due to hypothermia, while at least eight deaths were due to a mixture of drug use and the extreme cold. One man died after he fell from an overpass while trying to avoid a sliding vehicle.
On July 7, the medical examiner’s office reported it was investigating 94 total cases from Feb. 11 to Feb. 22. From the same date range in 2020, the medical examiner's office processed a total of 70 cases.
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As of April 28, according to State data, the statewide death toll attributed in some way to the storms stands at 151. Twelve of those were in Travis County and three were in Williamson.
Three people died in an East Austin Fire during the winter storm on Feb. 17. At the time of the fire, the power was believed to be out at the building. This will be investigated, the AFD said.
"We understand that people have been without power for an extremely long amount of time and they're cold," said Brandon Wade, assistant chief of operations with AFD. "The Austin Fire Department and EMS have responded to numerous people trying to warm themselves by starting fires inside, maybe by barbecues pits or what have you. That's an extremely, extremely dangerous action to do. So if you cannot warm yourself with blankets or any other heating device, we're going to ask you to try to go to a warming shelter or friend's house. We absolutely do not want people starting fires inside their house."
Local emergency crews were battered with calls during the storm. The Austin Fire Department said from Feb. 12 to Feb. 21, it responded to more than 5,559 total calls for everything from broken water pipes to fires and traffic incidents.
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