Watch: Thunderstorms Slam Texas, Houston; Hundreds Of Thousands Still Without Power

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A devastating storm with hurricane-force winds wreaked havoc in Houston on Thursday, claiming the lives of at least four individuals. The powerful winds shattered windows in high-rise buildings, leaving parts of downtown Houston and its commercial district strewn with debris. Mayor John Whitmire, speaking in an interview with local television station KRIV, described the aftermath as chaotic, with fallen power lines and shattered glass lining the streets. The storm's impact was compounded by widespread power outages, leaving thousands of homes in darkness. Additionally, the US National Weather Service issued a flood watch for the Houston area due to heavy rains accompanying the storm, further adding to the city's challenges.    #Thunderstorms #TexasWeather #HoustonStorm #PowerOutage #SevereWeather #EmergencyResponse #TexasStrong #WeatherAlert #StormDamage #HoustonStrong #NaturalDisaster #ClimateCrisis #SafetyFirst #EmergencyPreparedness #ExtremeWeather                 ~PR.152~ED.101~

Transcript

00:00 A

00:24 devastating storm with hurricane force winds wreaked havoc in Houston on Thursday, claiming

00:30 the lives of at least four individuals.

00:33 The powerful winds shattered windows in high-rise buildings, leaving parts of downtown Houston

00:37 and its commercial district strewn with debris.

00:40 Mayor John Whitemeyer, speaking in an interview with local television station KRIV, described

00:46 the aftermath as "chaotic," with fallen power lines and shattered glass lining the streets.

00:51 The storm's impact was compounded by widespread power outages, leaving thousands of homes

00:56 in darkness.

00:57 Additionally, the U.S. National Weather Service issued a flood watch for the Houston area

01:01 due to heavy rains accompanying the storm, further adding to the city's challenges.

01:07 Addressing the public from the city's Emergency Operations Center, Mayor Whitemeyer detailed

01:11 the ferocity of the thunderstorm that battered Houston, situated on the Gulf Coast of southeast

01:17 Texas.

01:18 With winds roaring at speeds ranging from 129 to 161 kilometers per hour, the storm

01:24 wreaked havoc on the state's most populous urban center.

01:28 Urging residents to remain indoors, Whitemeyer specifically cautioned against venturing into

01:32 the heavily affected downtown area, which he described as "darkened" and "littered" with

01:37 shards of broken glass.

01:39 The message right now is to stay home, he said, adding that public schools would be

01:43 closed on Friday and that local authorities were asking all non-essential workers to likewise

01:48 take the day off.

01:49 The mayor said at least four storm-related fatalities had been confirmed, mostly from

01:54 fallen trees.

01:55 Mayor Whitemeyer emphasized the scale of the disaster, stating, "Over 800,000 families

02:01 are without power right now."

02:02 He reiterated similar initial assessments of the storm's impact during a brief televised

02:07 news conference shortly after his interview.

02:10 Recounting the suddenness of the severe weather, Whitemeyer shared that he was attending a

02:14 Little League baseball game when the storm struck, leaving little time for people to

02:18 seek shelter.

02:19 Heavy storms slammed the region during the first week of May, leading to numerous high-water

02:23 rescues, including some from the rooftops of flooded homes.

02:26 President Biden Friday night issued a major disaster declaration that frees up federal

02:30 assistance for seven southeast Texas counties for the severe storms, straight-line winds,

02:35 tornadoes and flooding that hit the region beginning April 26.

02:59 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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