Widespread power outages caused by deadly Houston storm raise new risk: hot weather

HOUSTON — As the Houston area works to clean up and restore power to thousands after deadly storms, it will do so Saturday under a smog warning and as all of South Texas begins to feel the heat .

The National Weather Service in Houston warned that with temperatures hovering around 90 degrees (32.2 C) this weekend, people should experience the symptoms of heat exhaustion. “Don’t overdo it during the cleaning process,” he said in a post on social platform X.

Mild weather is a concern in a region where more than 555,000 homes and businesses remained without power Friday night, up from nearly 1 million, according to PowerOutage.us. Severe storms Thursday with winds up to 100 mph (161 km/h) blew out windows across downtown, while a tornado touched down near Cypress, in the northwest suburbs of Houston .

At least four people were killed when storms swept through Harris County, which includes Houston. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said Friday that restoring power to some areas could take “weeks.”

As several transmission towers failed, Hidalgo urged patience. Another 26,000 customers were without power in Louisiana, where high winds and a suspected tornado struck, down from a peak of 215,000.

“We’re going to have to talk about this disaster in weeks, not days,” Hidalgo said.

She said she heard “horror stories of simple terror and helplessness” as the storm passed. The weather service also reported straight-line winds of up to 100 mph in suburban Baytown and Galena Park.

The Houston Department of Health announced it will distribute 400 free portable air conditioners to area seniors, people with disabilities and caregivers of children with disabilities.

In addition to the heat, the Houston area was also warned of poor air quality this weekend. To the east, heavy rain was possible in eastern Louisiana into central Alabama, while parts of Louisiana were warned of the risk of flash flooding through Saturday.

Widespread destruction paralyzed much of Houston. Trees, debris and broken glass littered the streets. The brick wall of a building was torn out.

Houston-area school districts canceled classes Friday for more than 400,000 students and government offices were closed. City officials urged people to avoid the city center and stay off roads, many of which were flooded or lined with downed power lines and malfunctioning traffic lights.

Houston Mayor John Whitmire warned that police were out in force, including state troopers sent to the area to prevent looting. He said the speed and intensity of the storm caught many off guard.

“Most Houstonians did not have time to get out of danger,” Whitmire said at a news conference.

Noelle Delgado stopped by Houston Pets Alive, the animal rescue organization where she is executive director, Thursday evening to find that the dogs and cats — more than 30 in total — were unharmed, but the awning had been torn off, the panel was mutilated and water was leaking inside. She hoped to find foster homes for the animals.

“I could definitely tell this storm was a little different,” she said. “It was terrifying.”

Yesenia Guzmán worried about whether she would get paid while the power was still out at the restaurant where she works in the Houston suburb of Katy.

“We don’t really know what’s going to happen,” she said.

Whitmire signed a disaster declaration, paving the way for storm recovery assistance at the state and federal level. President Joe Biden also issued a disaster declaration, his own for seven Texas counties, including Harris, following severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes and flooding since April 26. His action makes federal funding available to those affected by the storms.

Emergency officials in neighboring Montgomery County called the damage to transmission lines “catastrophic.”

Destroyed high-voltage transmission towers and downed power lines pose a double challenge for the utility company because the damage has affected transmission and distribution systems, according to electricity and distribution expert Alexandria von Meier. in energy, who called it a rare thing. Damage to the distribution system is more common, von Meier said.

How quickly repairs are completed will depend on a variety of factors, including the time needed to assess the damage, replacement of equipment, access issues at roadworks and availability of labor. Centerpoint Energy deployed 1,000 employees Friday and had requested 5,000 additional line workers and vegetation professionals.

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Associated Press journalists Jamie Stengle in Dallas, Valerie Gonzalez in McAllen and Lisa Baumann in Bellingham, Washington, contributed.