4 dead as severe storms hit Houston area; nearly a million people without power in Texas

Emergency crews in southeast Texas were clearing debris and assessing flooding Friday morning after powerful storms ravaged the state, killing at least four people and knocking out power to some 800,000 customers.

The winds – which reached 100 mph and included a few tornadoes – were reminiscent of 2008’s Hurricane Ike, one of the costliest natural disasters in American history, Houston Mayor John Whitmire said during from a press briefing on Thursday. 3 to 6 inches of widespread rain fell north of Houston, with one of the highest rainfall totals reported being about 6.90 inches in 24 hours near Romayor.

The storm is now focusing its anger further east, with New Orleans residents urged to “TAKE COVER NOW!” ” by the local branch of the National Weather Service, which said winds of 70 mph were expected to hit Louisiana’s largest city and surrounding areas.

In Texas, the overnight destruction was evident even before sunrise, with strong winds ripping windows off high-rise buildings in downtown Houston and inundating the area with flooding. The neighborhood’s streets were littered with glass, power lines and other trash littered by the violent storms.

“I know many people have experienced and are still experiencing scary situations with the terrible and strong winds that blew through our county this evening,” Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said in a statement.

“Damage assessments are ongoing, and we cannot know how long it will take to clean up the debris without those assessments being completed, but from initial reports the debris appears to be very significant,” Hidalgo said.

She added that “until we fully understand the scale of this incident, all cards are on the table to ensure we recover as quickly as possible.”

Classes are canceled for the 400,000 students in the 274 schools in the Houston Independent School District. And officials urged all but essential employees to work from home when possible.

Two of the four people who died in Texas were killed by falling trees, while a third died when a crane exploded, Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña said at a news briefing . No information was given on the fourth.

At one point, more than 900,000 customers were without power statewide, up to about 825,000 at 4:30 a.m. PT, according to poweroutage.us. Most of them, about 725,000, were in Harris County, Houston. Heat and humidity in the city will increase over the weekend, which could lead to heat issues if power is not restored to the area quickly. Temperatures could reach 91 degrees with a heat index of 97.

Whitmire urged people to stay home and get off the roads, describing downtown Houston as a “mess” and describing how “many roads are impassable due to downed power lines, debris and trees fallen down “.

Firefighters were removing live wires from Route 290 and most of the city’s traffic lights were out, he said, adding that agencies would work around the clock to clear debris and make conditions safer .

“Stay at home. Don’t travel on the roads. It’s dark; there are trees across the roads,” he said. “So be very patient, be careful, take care of each other, stay home tonight, don’t go to work tomorrow unless you’re an essential worker.”

Harris County Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia urged social media its teams must “stay in place” because “many members are on the ground, which makes the roads dangerous”. He added that his crews were ready to begin removing debris “once the winds subside.”

The storms came in relatively rapid succession, although parts of the state were still under flood watches and warnings.

These alerts covered parts of Harris County, as well as cities including Austin, Brazos, Burleson, Grimes, Houston, Madison, Montgomery, North Liberty, Polk, San Jacinto, South Liberty, Trinity, Walker, Waller and Washington.

Severe weather spread across Louisiana, knocking out power to some 215,000 customers, up to around 115,000 at 9:30 a.m.

According to local NBC affiliate WDSU, about 100,000 of them were Entergy Louisiana customers in and around New Orleans.

A portion of the Southeast coast, stretching from Louisiana to Mississippi, through Alabama and into the Florida Panhandle, was under a flood warning early Friday. About 7 million people are at risk of severe storms in Louisiana, southern Mississippi, Alabama and western Florida. Cities like Baton Rouge, Mobile and Hattiesburg are under flood watches, with the risk of flooding highest along Hattiesburg to Montgomery, Alabama, where 2 inches of rain per hour is expected.

The National Weather Service expects 3 to 6 inches of rain to fall in some areas, along with possible tornadoes and quarter-sized hail, as “severe storms continue to hit over our coastal counties,” the National Weather Service said.

“Take cover now and if you are in a room with trees to the west, find another safe place until this passes,” NWS New Orleans said on X. “Shelter in an interior room away from the windows while this storm passes!” it’s said in another post.

Houston has already provided a stark example of what this storm can do. Across the city, photos and videos posted on social media showed intense flooding and downed trees, as well as overturned power towers and power lines.

In a video posted to Facebook, rain was seen seeping into Minute Maid Park, where the Houston Astros play. Another video showed hordes of baseball fans leaving the stadium due to bad weather.

Winds in the area were so strong that they appeared to blow off the roof panels of a Hyatt Regency hotel in Houston, another video posted on social networks watch.

And the windows of a building at Wells Fargo Plaza in Houston appear to have been blown out in a post on.

On Saturday, 9 million people from northern Florida to eastern North Carolina can expect gusty storms as well as an isolated tornado. Cities at risk include Tallahassee, Charleston and Wilmington.

An additional 1 to 3 inches of rain will be possible in the Southeast through Sunday, with higher amounts up to 5 inches locally.