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Early data shows there were 57 winter storm-related deaths in Texas

Officials say most of the deaths verified at this time are associated with hypothermia.

DALLAS —

Note: The video above is a story about a woman who lost her mother following the storm.

The deaths of 57 Texans were related to the historic winter storm in February, including 25 people in Harris County alone and two people in Collin County, according to the first preliminary numbers released by the state health department Monday.

So far, the department has not released preliminary numbers for Tarrant, Dallas, and Denton counties, or for many other counties in North Texas.

During February's major winter storms, millions of Texans lost power for days and the state's energy grid came within minutes of total collapse. That led to other problems, like boil water notices and food scarcity at grocery stores.

The Texas Department of State Health Services said in an email that most of the deaths verified at this time are associated with hypothermia. There have also been multiple deaths caused by falls, fire, vehicle accidents, carbon monoxide poisoning and medical equipment failure.

The information is subject to change as more death records are reviewed and more information is gathered, the DSHS said. The deaths occurred between Feb. 11 and March 5. 

On Feb. 11, at least six people were killed in a massive pileup crash that involved 133 vehicles, including several 18-wheelers, during icy conditions in an express lane on Interstate 35W in Fort Worth.

The DSHS said the information will be updated weekly.

The DSHS said there are three ways it is notified of storm-related deaths:

  • Medical certifiers submit a DSHS form specifying that a particular death was related to a disaster
  • Medical certifiers flag a death record as disaster-related
  • Epidemiologists match public reports of disaster-related deaths to death records

Verified winter storm-related deaths by county of occurence

  • Aransas, 1 
  • Bandera, 1 
  • Bexar, 1 
  • Cass, 1 
  • Collin, 2 
  • Fort Bend, 2 
  • Frio, 1 
  • Galveston, 1 
  • Grayson, 1 
  • Hale, 1 
  • Harris, 25 
  • Hill, 2 
  • Hopkins, 1 
  • Kendall, 1 
  • Lavaca, 2 
  • Lee, 1 
  • Montgomery, 1 
  • Pecos, 1 
  • Rusk, 1 
  • San Saba, 1 
  • Sutton, 1 
  • Taylor, 5 
  • Wharton, 1 
  • Wichita, 1 
  • Williamson, 1
    Total: 57 

WFAA reporter William Joy contributed to this report.

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