Houston-area storm death toll rises to eight, 150,000 still without power

May 21 (UPI) — An eighth person has died due to last week’s strong storm that hit Houston and surrounding areas, officials said.

Houston Fire Department spokesperson Martee Black announced the death Monday.

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According to her, the person died from carbon monoxide poisoning.

In an online statement, Houston’s fire chief said he has responded to more than 80 carbon monoxide incidents since the storm hit Thursday, requiring four children to be sent to local hospitals for injuries caused by carbon monoxide. generators running indoors.

“Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is the silent killer that follows a storm,” he said.

The storm system with winds up to 100 mph hit Houston and surrounding areas Thursday, causing widespread damage. Trees and power lines were downed. Streets littered with glass and debris. Nearly a million customers were left without power.

CenterPoint Energy said about 150,000 people were still in the dark Monday evening.

“While our teams’ efforts have made steady progress toward our restoration goals, we know we still have much work to do to restore our customers still impacted by last Thursday’s storm,” said Lynnae Wilson , senior vice president of power at CenterPoint Energy. company, said in a statement.

“To this end, we continue to utilize our large vegetation management staff to address significant tree damage. »

Four deaths were initially announced Thursday, and three more the next day. At least two of the deaths were due to falling trees.