Texas, Biden declares the state of maximum calamity for the polar frost

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February 20, 2021 United States President Joe Biden declared a state of emergency in Texas for "major disaster," ordering federal assistance to state and local recovery efforts in bad weather areas.

The White House broke the news in a statement.

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The declaration of a state of maximum emergency was made necessary due to the crisis caused by the wave of exceptional polar frost and bad weather.

Powerful relief was deployed by federal authorities to help the state and local authorities in areas hit by winter storms.

With the declaration of 'major disaster', the White House has made federal resources available for temporary housing, building repairs, subsidized loans for damaged and uninsured properties, and other programs to help individuals and businesses recover after effects of the disaster.

The wave of polar freezing and bad weather sent the electricity grid into a tailspin, causing a blackout for millions of electricity consumers.

After electricity, the water network also went into crisis and 13 million Texans found themselves without drinking water.

Biden, who plans to travel to Texas in the next few days, is in contact with mayors of major cities, such as Dallas, Austin and Houston, to make sure they have access to federal resources, the White House said.

The Texas crisis, meanwhile, relaunches the image of Democrat Beto O'Rourke who had lost in 2018 against Republican Ted Cruz in the Senate, fueling speculations about his political future.

O'Rourke has organized a small army of volunteers to help the elderly who have remained isolated in Texas with no heating and no clean water.

"The energy capital of North America cannot provide enough energy to its residents' homes. It is a failure and it is not the natural disaster that is to blame but those who have been hit by public trust and have failed," said O'Rourke. who was also a candidate for the White House in 2020. 

Ted Cruz, Republican federal senator for the state of Texas, is at the center of a major political controversy for having traveled, with his family, to Mexico, in Cancún in the midst of the storm devastated his state.

Many are calling for his resignation.