Severe storm kills at least four people in Texas, knocking out power to nearly 900,000 homes and businesses

 

Severe storm kills at least four people in Texas, knocking out power to nearly 900,000 homes and businesses

 A severe storm packing hurricane-force winds has pummelled Houston in the US state of Texas, killing at least four people, blowing windows out of high-rise buildings and leaving nearly 900,000 homes without power.

Much of downtown Houston and its commercial district were littered with fallen power lines and glass from shattered windows following the storm, with traffic and street lights knocked out across the city, mayor John Whitmire said in an interview on local television station KRIV.The mayor confirmed the four fatalities, mostly from fallen trees

Another happened when a crane blew over in strong winds. 

Speaking from the city's emergency operations centre, Mr Whitmire said the thunderstorm raked the Gulf Coast city in south-east Texas, the state's most populous urban centre, with winds howling at 129-161 kilometres per hour. 

Sustained winds topping 96kph were recorded at Bush Intercontinental Airport.

He urged members of the public to stay indoors and to especially avoid the heavily hit downtown area, which he said was left darkened and strewn with broken glass.

The message right now is to stay home," he said, adding that public schools would be closed on Friday and that local authorities were asking all non-essential workers to likewise take the day off.

"Downtown is a mess."

Over 800,000 families are without power right now."

Mr Whitmire delivered similar initial storm assessments during a brief televised news conference carried live a short time after his interview.

The mayor said the severe weather had caught many residents by surprise, recounting that he was attending a little league baseball game when the storm hit, "and we had very little time to get to cover".

The damage extended to the city's suburbs, with emergency officials in neighbouring Montgomery County describing the damage to transmission lines as “catastrophic” and warning that power could be impacted for several days.

The National Weather Service also issued a flood watch for the Houston area from heavy rains associated with the storm.