Water woes grow in South as Ted Cruz returns from Cancun

Power is being restored to more homes and businesses in states hit by a deadly blast of winter, but the crisis was far from over as people still lacked safe drinking water.

In Texas on Thursday, about 325,000 homes and businesses remained without power, down from about 3 million a day earlier, though utility officials said limited rolling blackouts were still possible.

The storms also left more than 320,000 homes and businesses without power in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. About 70,000 power outages persisted after an ice storm in eastern Kentucky, while nearly 67,000 were without electricity in West Virginia.

And more than 100,000 customers remained without power Thursday in Oregon, a week after a massive snow and ice storm. Maria Pope, the CEO of Portland General Electric, said she expects power to be restored by Friday night to more than 90% of the customers still in the dark.

Meanwhile, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz took his family on vacation to Cancun, Mexico, this week as his home state was paralyzed by a deadly winter storm, drawing criticism from leaders in both parties and potentially damaging his political ambitions.

In a statement on Thursday, the Republican senator said he was returning to Texas. He accompanied his family to Mexico a day earlier, he said, only after his daughters asked to go on a trip with friends, given that school was canceled for the week.

“Wanting to be a good dad, I flew down with them last night and am flying back this afternoon,” Cruz wrote.

The extreme weather was blamed for the deaths of at least 40 people, some while trying to keep warm. In the Houston area, one family died from carbon monoxide as their car idled in their garage. A woman and her three grandchildren were killed in a fire that authorities said might have been caused by a fireplace they were using.

Utilities from Minnesota to Texas implemented rolling blackouts to ease strained power grids.

Houston Police officers Kenneth Bigger, center, and Aaron Day, center right, hand out blankets to people under the elevated portion of I-45 in Houston, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021, as a winter weather continues to hit the area. (Jon Shapley/Houston Chronicle via AP)
Icicles form on a citrus tree from a sprinkler system used to protect the trees from the freezing temperatures on Monday, Feb. 15, 2021 in Edinburg, Texas. (Delcia Lopez/The Monitor via AP)
Natalie Harrell holds her sleeping daughter, Natasha Tripeaux while sitting in a recliner at a Gallery Furniture store after the owner opened his business as a shelter for those without power at homes Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Icicles hang on the back of a vehicle Monday, Feb. 15, 2021, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Customers use the light from a cell phone to look in the meat section of a grocery store Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021, in Dallas. Even though the store lost power, it was open for cash only sales. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Two men climb over downed trees as they head out to retrieve gas for generators, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021, in Huntington, W.Va., following a winter weather system. (Sholten Singer/The Herald-Dispatch via AP)
Jorge Sanhueza-Lyon stands on his kitchen counter to warm his feet over his gas stove Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
A sign advises customers entering a South Arlington QT that they have no running water, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021, in Arlington, Texas. The City of Arlington told residents to conserve water and boil water after a potential water main break. (Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News via AP)
A Home Depot parking lot is covered in snow in the Westbury neighborhood, Monday, Feb. 15, 2021, in Houston. (Mark Mulligan/Houston Chronicle via AP)
Ivan Gonzales, left, works with his brother-in-law Gabriel Martinez to assist a motorist using a carpet up a hill along the snow-covered Cherrywood Road in Austin, Texas, on Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021. (Bronte Wittpenn/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
A water bucket is filled as others wait in near freezing temperatures to use a hose from public park spigot Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
A woman wrapped in a blanket crosses the street near downtown Dallas, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Sara Castillo loads firewood into her car Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021, in Dallas. Castillo said the fire would be used to burn for warmth as her family has been without power since Sunday due to blackouts caused by extreme cold. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Dialina Gonzalez sleeps on a mattress inside a Gallery Furniture store which opened as a shelter Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
People seeking shelter from below freezing temperatures rest inside a church warming center Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Leonel Solis and Estefani Garcia use their car to heat their home in East Dallas area of Dallas on Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021. The couple, who lost power on Sunday, have been using electricity from a neighbor's generator and heat from their car to stay warm after seeing it on TikTok. (Juan /The Dallas Morning News via AP)
People wait in line to fill propane tanks Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021, in Houston. Customers waited over an hour in the freezing rain to fill their tanks. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Brian Bowen drags his friend Eric Andries down a street in Overton Park in Memphis, Tenn., Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian via AP)
Snow blankets a neighborhood in Austin on Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. (Bronte Wittpenn/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
After seeing a posting on Facebook, LaDonna drove from Johnson County, Texas to collect some of the dumpsters-full of ice cream thrown out at a supermarket, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021, in Arlington, Texas. LaDonna said she's collecting the frozen goods for her neighbors. Rolling power outages this week have forced businesses to clear merchandise that needs refrigeration. (Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News via AP)
Howard and Nena Mamu eat dinner at their home in the Glenwood neighborhood in Hutto, Texas, Tuesday, Feb 16, 2021. (Ricardo B. Brazziell/Austin American-Statesman via AP)