Four people were killed and nearly a million customers along the Gulf Coast were without power early Friday after intense thunderstorms swept through Texas the night before, bringing heavy rain, destructive winds and dangerous flooding to portions of the state that had already been inundated this month.
The storm blew out windows, caved in the wall of a building and downed power lines across Houston as powerful winds tore through the downtown area. Of the people who died, at least two were killed by falling trees and one was killed in an accident involving a crane that was toppled over by strong winds, according to Samuel Peña, the city’s fire chief.
Much of Houston was battered by winds of speeds up to 100 miles per hour, rivaling speeds seen during Hurricane Ike, with “some twisters mixed in,” the city’s mayor, John Whitmire, said at the briefing. It will take at least 24 hours and up to 48 hours in parts of the city to restore power, he said.
The public school district in Houston said all schools would be closed Friday. Emergency responders warned residents to stay home, saying many roads were still impassable and most traffic lights were out throughout the city. Fire fighters still had to remove a live power line from a major highway.