Houston power outages will create more dangers, officials say

Houston city officials urged residents not to rest on their laurels as the sun broke through clouds Monday afternoon, illuminating a city devastated by Hurricane Beryl.

“Don’t let the clear skies fool you,” Mayor John Whitmire said. “We still face dangerous situations.”

Despite the decrease in winds and rain during the afternoon, the threat of flooded roads, falling tree limbs and downed power lines still exists across much of the city, Whitmire said.

In the Houston area, 2.2 million people are without power, authorities said.

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Brad Tutunjian, a CounterPoint Energy official, declined to give an estimate of how long it will take to restore power to the city. About 10,000 linemen have been mobilized from outside the area to help with the repairs, but a damage assessment must first be done before the company can estimate how long repairs will take, he said.

This massive number of outages will lead to even more dangers, officials said.

Heat poisoning and carbon monoxide were the main concerns for Justin Wells, executive assistant chief of the Houston Fire Department.

“Watch your neighbors,” Wells advised. “Watch your home and your loved ones.”

Shelters for people without power are expected to open soon by the city, once an assessment of Houston’s multi-service centers and other city-owned facilities is completed, officials said. Many of the city’s multi-service centers and libraries are without power.

Whitmire declined to give an estimate of when the cooling centers would open.

Authorities also warned of dangers on the roads and encouraged residents to stay home for the rest of the day Monday.

Hundreds of street lights in the city are no longer working, creating a risk of traffic accidents, authorities said. In addition, many streets in the city are still flooded with water.

“It will take us several days, if not weeks, to fully assess and repair all of this damage,” said Randy Macchi, Houston’s public works operations director.

Whitmire said he has requested a federal disaster declaration for the storm. At the news conference, the mayor was flanked by U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, and U.S. Rep. Al Green, a Houston Democrat, both of whom said they would support the disaster declaration request.

A formal request for the declaration is expected to be sent by acting Gov. Dan Patrick in the coming hours, Cruz said. After that, it will be up to President Joe Biden to declare a federal state of disaster, unlocking federal aid for the region.

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