Severe storms carved through parts of Texas Thursday before pushing into western Louisiana through Friday’s early hours, prompting an overnight flash flood warning for New Orleans. As the sun rises Friday, several cities in the storm’s path will begin to take stock of damage left in the storms’ wake, CNN trported.
One person was killed in Houston when a crane was toppled by strong winds and two other deaths were caused by fallen trees, according to Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña, citing preliminary information.
All non-essential workers are urged to stay home tomorrow and city schools are closed as widespread power outages have darkened the city and disabled traffic lights, Mayor John Whitmire said. Streets are littered with debris, downed trees and power lines, and the downtown area is dusted with glass from broken windows, he added.
Major flooding has prompted water rescues in at least one Texas city. As many as 20 drivers had to be helped from rising water in Bryan, about 100 miles northwest of Houston, police said.
Power outages left more than 900,000 homes and businesses in the dark across Texas as of Thursday night. More than 200,000 are also without power in Louisiana as storms batter the state.
Possible tornadoes posed a risk in Texas and Louisiana, and carried the threat of destructive winds and golf ball-sized hail. A reported tornado in Convent, Louisiana, downed trees and power poles late Thursday, the Storm Prediction Center said.
Parts of Texas and western Louisiana are under a rare Level 4 of 4 high risk of excessive rainfall Thursday, the Weather Prediction Center said. More than 600,000 people live in the high-risk zone.
SD/PR
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