Seven people have died including a cement truck driver due to the hurricane-force winds, severe storms and rains that have destroyed Houston this week.
According to reports, a 72-year-old man has died after being crushed by a falling crane due to to the devastating disaster.
Officers explained: ‘They did everything they could. Obviously, a lot of heavy equipment to try to get people out. But prayers for their families. A huge tragic event.’
Although Houston Mayor John Whitmire confirmed in a news conference that four people had died in the city on May 16, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez later said that there were three more victims in unincorporated Harris County.
The three deaths included a man who collapsed while trying to move a downed power pole, a woman who was found dead in a trailer after lightning hit it and caused a fire and a man who was found dead after going to his truck to plug in an oxygen tank after the power went out.
Whitmire had previously said that two people were killed by downed trees and a third died after a crane toppled over. He did not clarify how the fourth person died in the city.
Describing the storm, Harris County judge Lina Hidalgo said at a conference: ‘This kind of wind is something we have not seen in Harris County since Hurricane Alicia in 1983.’
The National Weather Service said that the storm peaked at 100mph winds in Houston and there was an EF-1 tornado with 110-mph winds in Cypress.
Both Whitmire and Hidalgo have reportedly signed disaster declarations that can increase additional authority and aid in the stricken areas.
Whitmire has previously advised residents to stay at home instead of driving into work and asked only essential workers to make the dangerous commute.
Schools have also been closed due to the widespread power outages and disabled traffic lights.
‘Stay at home tonight, do not go to work tomorrow unless you’re an essential worker. Stay home, take care of your children.
‘Our first responders will be working around the clock,’ the mayor told the panicked public.
Videos and images show windows being blown out in downtown buildings, cranes swaying in the wind, people running for shelter as record-breaking rains fall over the city along with debris destroying houses and cars.
The Houston Fire Department has advised locals to leave their homes immediately and call 911 if they smell gas in their house.
According to CBS, 922,000 homes and businesses were affected by the outages from when the storm peaked.
CenterPoint Energy officials have said that restoration could take in the hardest-hit areas could take days
Credit: Source link
