“It was fierce, it was intense, it was quick and most Houstonians didn’t have time to get themselves out of harm’s way,” said Houston Mayor John Whitmire.
Power outages could last weeks in parts of Houston after thunderstorms with hurricane-force winds tore through the city, an official said Friday, knocking out electricity to nearly 1 million homes and businesses.
“We are going to have to talk about this disaster in weeks, not days,” Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, the county’s top elected official, said at a news conference.
Houston Mayor John Whitmire said four, and possibly five, people were killed after storms Thursday swept through Harris County, which includes Houston. Officials warned residents that it would be a slow cleanup and that some residents should brace to be without electricity for days, if not longer.
“It was fierce, it was intense, it was quick and most Houstonians didn’t have time to get themselves out of harm’s way,” Whitmire said.
He said at least 2,500 traffic lights were out and warned would-be looters that “police are out in force including 50 state troopers sent to the area to prevent looting.”
The widespread destruction brought much of Houston to a standstill as crews raced to restore power and remove uprooted trees and debris. School districts in the Houston area canceled classed for more than 400,000 students and government offices were closed. City officials urged people to stay off roads, many of which were flooded or lined with downed power lines and malfunctioning traffic lights.
Whitmire called downtown “a mess” on Thursday and told people not to go to work Friday, unless they were considered essential workers.
