Emergency crews in southeast Texas were clearing debris and assessing flooding on Friday after powerful storms tore through the state, killing at least four people and knocking out power to nearly 800,000 customers.
The winds — which reached 100 mph — were reminiscent of 2008's Hurricane Ike, one of the costliest natural disasters in American history, Houston Mayor John Whitmire said in a briefing Thursday. A widespread 3 to 6 inches of rain fell north of Houston, with one of the highest totals reaching around 6.9 inches in 24 hours near Romayor.
The storm also battered New Orleans overnight, with severe thunderstorms and flooding possible again through Saturday morning, according to the local branch of the National Weather Service.
In Texas, the destruction was evident even before sunrise, with high winds tearing out windows of high-rise buildings in downtown Houston and inundating the region with flooding. Streets were littered with glass, electrical lines and other detritus.
“I know that many people lived through, and are still living through, scary situations with the terrible strong winds that blew across our county tonight," Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said in a statement Friday morning.
"Damage assessments are ongoing, and we cannot know how long it will take to clear debris without those assessments completed, but from initial reports the debris looks very significant," Hidalgo said.
Classes were canceled for the 400,000 students in the Houston Independent School District.
Officials urged all but essential employees to work from home if possible, and the Houston Police Department told residents to avoid traveling downtown.
Two of the four people who died in Texas were killed by falling trees, while a third died when a crane blew over, Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña said at a news briefing. No information was given about the fourth. Whitmire said a possible fifth death is being investigated, but it’s not yet clear if it was related to the weather.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott thanked emergency personnel in a statement, saying work is ongoing to assist communities affected by the storms.
“Our hearts are with the families and loved ones of those who tragically lost their lives due to severe weather in Southeast Texas, and we remain in contact with local officials to do everything we can to protect Texans and help our communities recover,” Abbott said.
At one point, more than 900,000 customers were without power statewide; that remained true for around 670,000 as of 3 p.m. CT, according to poweroutage.us. Nearly all of those were in Houston’s Harris County.
Heat and humidity in the city will ramp up into the weekend, which could lead to health concerns if power is not restored quickly. Temperatures could be as high as 91 degrees with a heat index of 97.
Across Houston, photos and videos on social media showed intense flooding and downed trees, as well as toppled electrical towers and power lines.
In a video posted to Facebook, rain was seen leaking into Minute Maid Park, where the Houston Astros play. Another video showed baseball fans leaving the stadium amid the bad weather.
Strong winds appeared to have blown off roof panels at a Hyatt Regency Hotel in Houston, a video posted to X showed. Other footage shared on the platform showed blown out windows in a building in the city's Wells Fargo Plaza.
Whitmire described downtown Houston as a “mess” and warned that “many roads are impassible due to downed power lines, debris, and fallen trees.”
Firefighters were removing live wires from Route 290 and most city traffic lights were down, he added.
In Louisiana, the severe weather knocked out electricity for some 215,000 customers, many in and around New Orleans. Around 115,000 remained without power as of Friday morning.
A swath of the southeast coast, stretching from Louisiana, through Mississippi, Alabama and into the Florida Panhandle, was under a flood watch early Friday.
The National Weather Service said in an afternoon update that unsettled weather, including the possibility of excessive rainfall and severe thunderstorms, will persist across the Southeast through Saturday.
Around 7 million people along the central Gulf Coast remain under flood watches.
“A few tornadoes, scattered damaging winds, and hail all appear possible over the central/eastern Gulf Coast area,” according to the National Weather Service.
The agency also noted a risk of severe thunderstorms in portions of the northern Plains through Friday evening.
