Texans reconsider disaster preparedness plans after historic winter storm KTRK Share: The Texas winter storm has some people asking, "How prepared do I really need to be?" The one thing we have seen over and over again is that very few were prepared to live without power and water during this historic cold. Some people even turned to the bayou for water to use in their bathrooms. You know things are desperate when Houstonians fill jugs with bayou water so they can flush their toilets. On the west side of town, people stood in line at Haden Park just to get water. In Austin, where snow is still on the ground, one woman decided to use melted snow.