For native El Pasoans living in Austin and San Antonio during winter storm, ‘it’s survival mode’

EL PASO, Texas -- For those in the Borderland, the winter storm may now be a thing of the past - but that’s not the case for those living in other parts of Texas.

“It’s straight survival mode,” said El Paso native Rene Lopez, who now lives in San Antonio.

Because of the Texas winter storm, Lopez and his fiancée, Marcela Robles, have been without running water for more than 24 hours.

“Since we don't have water, we aren't able to flush the toilets, But since we have gas, we’re able to collect snow and boil the snow so that way we can throw the boiled snow that turns into water into the toilets and flush,” explained Lopez.

The San Antonio couple were glad they were able to prepare for this winter storm in advance.

"We were expecting it for a week and then electricity and water turned off overnight, so some people didn't have time to prepare for it the way that we had the luxury to,” said Robles.

The couple may not have running water, but they are thankful that it’s the only utility they are without during this winter storm.

“People are going through it bad, so that’s what makes us feel blessed because we do still have electricity at the very least - which is keeping us warm," said Lopez, "Other people don’t have that luxury. They're freezing in their own homes.”

For El Paso native Andrea Cervantes and her husband, a freezing home was what led them to pack their bags and head out to stay with a friend that still had water and heat.

“Monday morning we woke up thinking we were getting ready for wor,k and then out of nowhere everything just turned off," said Cervantes. "The heat turned off, all the lights turned off and then the night came and we were just left with a really terribly cold house. I think the house was close to 40 degrees inside.”

Cervantes is 8 months pregnant and currently lives in south Austin where millions of residents are dealing with rolling blackouts.

"We’re really grateful I haven't gone into labor, because I would not want to drive to the hospital on roads like this,” said Cervantes.

For Delilah Kemmerling, who lives in the Texas community of Kyle, those dangerous roads are what makes her feel helpless when it comes to making sure her family and friends are OK.

“We feel very helpless because we see everybody outside who’s struggling and we can't get there to help them because the roads are too icy and I can't get to them or they cant get to me,” said Kemmerling.

All four Texas residents are thankful to be safe. They’re using this winter storm as a learning experience and they hope that the state of Texas will learn from it as well.

"We hope that everyone is safe," said Lopez, "And that Texas learns from this, because obviously with the whole grid thing - El Paso is the only one that was prepared and hopefully we learn from that.”

Lopez and Robles are planning on getting married next Friday in San Antonio, so they’re hoping this winter storm will be gone by then.