Tropical Storm Edouard left thousands across Southeast Texas dealing with more than downed trees and debris, as widespread power outages forced some families out of their homes and left others scrambling to keep phones charged, food cold and medications safe.
In Vidor, Jonathan Schreck and his 16-year-old daughter went looking for relief from the heat and a way to stay connected after their power went out. They walked to a nearby McDonald’s to charge their phones and check the outage map.
Schreck said his concerns went beyond discomfort. He is a Type 1 diabetic and said he had insulin stored in a refrigerator that no longer had power.
“I’ve got insulin in the fridge, doing my best to keep it cold… I’m mostly blind so I can’t drive, I kind of depend on other people,” Schreck said.
About 30 miles away in Port Arthur, David Jones said the outage brought back memories of previous storms, from worrying about food to trying to sleep without air conditioning.
“This just kind of popped up on us, it seemed like the hurricane just popped up on us. So the only thing I was in short supply of was water, but I got that, didn’t have any problems,” Jones said.
In Beaumont, Cade Buckner said his family took a different approach. After losing power, they left town and found a hotel in Winnie. Buckner said Edouard caught him off guard and changed how he plans to prepare in the future.
“Definitely have a game plan because I was not prepared. I didn’t have a plan. It struck me and I just had to figure it out,” Buckner said.
Across the region, residents said losing electricity quickly changed their routines and raised questions about how long they could manage without power. Many said their focus is now getting back to normal while using what they learned from Edouard to better prepare for the next tropical system.