The mayor of a city in Texas reportedly wrote a Facebook post telling residents it was not the government's job to care for them during trying times, telling them "the strong will survive and the weak will parish [sic]" as an unprecedented winter storm leaves millions without power.

[...]

"Let me hurt some feelings while I have a minute!!" Mr Boyd said in his post. "No one owes you are [sic] your family anything; nor is it the local government's responsibility to support you during trying times like this! Sink or swim it's your choice! The City and County, along with power providers or any other service owes you NOTHING!!"

He then complained that residents were looking for a "hand out" and told people they should have been personally prepared to deal with catastrophic circumstances like the massive winter storm that struck the region, leaving Texans in some areas without heat in single digit temperatures.

"I'm sick and tired of people looking for a damn handout! If you don't have electricity you step up and come up with a game plan to keep your family warm and safe. If you have no water you deal without and think outside of the box to survive and provide water for your family," he wrote.

Mr Boyd then accused people of being "lazy" because they are waiting for their power to come back on. He did not offer suggestions as to how individual people could restore Texas's failed power grid amid the devastating storm.