Texas Winter Storm Death Toll Keeps Rising

The Texas Department of State Health Services has increased the death toll from the winter storm in February to 210 people.

The toll rose from its previous number of 151 in May as the agency continues to gather information regarding causes of death.

The number of deaths rose in over 60 counties. Harris County, Texas’ most populous county, leads the death toll with 43 deaths, followed by Travis County with 28 deaths.

The DSHS tracked storm-related deaths in three ways:

1) Medical certifiers submit a form to DSHS specifying the death was related to the storm.

2) Medical certifiers flag the death as disaster-related.

3) DSHS epidemiologists match public records of disaster-related deaths to death certificates.

While the leading cause of death was hypothermia, other deaths were caused by carbon monoxide poisoning, car accidents, falls, fires, and exacerbation of chronic illnesses, according to a department report.