DALLAS — The state added 54 additional deaths Thursday tied to the February winter storm, bringing the fatality count to 111 so far, according to the second release of preliminary data.
The new information included three additional deaths in Dallas County, two in Ellis County and two in Henderson County. Harris County had the most with 31 deaths.
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.
Most of the deaths so far have been related to hypothermia, according to the Department of State Health Services. On March 15, the state's first preliminary data release said there had been 57 deaths related to the storm.
The new report Thursday did not include any information on Denton, Tarrant, Rockwall, Parker counties, or for a few other outlying counties in North Texas.
The state reported Hunt and Kaufman counties each had one death.
The DSHS said in an email while most of the deaths are associated with hypothermia, there have also been multiple deaths caused by falls, fire, vehicle accidents, carbon monoxide poisoning and medical equipment failure.
RELATED: Early data shows there were 57 winter storm-related deaths, including 2 in Collin County, state says
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 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 occurrence
- Aransas, 1
- Armstrong, 1
- Bandera, 1
- Bexar, 4
- Brazoria, 1
- Cass, 1
- Clay, 1
- Coleman, 2
- Collin, 2
- Dallas, 3
- Ector, 1
- Ellis, 2
- Fayette, 1
- Fort Bend, 3
- Freestone, 1
- Frio, 1
- Galveston, 6
- Grayson, 1
- Hale, 1
- Harris, 31
- Henderson, 2
- Hill, 2
- Hopkins, 2
- Hunt, 1
- Kaufman, 1
- Kendall, 1
- Kerr, 1
- Lamar, 1
- Lavaca, 2
- Lee, 1
- Leon, 1
- Limestone, 1
- Montgomery, 2
- Pecos, 1
- Rusk, 1
- San Saba, 1
- Schleicher, 1
- Sutton, 1
- Taylor, 6
- Travis, 9
- Trinity, 1
- Uvalde, 1
- Wharton, 1
- Wichita, 2
- Williamson, 2
Total: 111
