Severe storms in the USA leave victims and countless damages

On Thursday night (16), regions of Texas, Louisiana and other states in the region experienced severe storms, resulting in more than 770,000 homes and businesses without power the following day. In Houston, heavy rains with hurricane-level winds were responsible for the deaths of at least 4 people. The deaths were not caused by the rain itself, but by accidents caused by it, such as falling trees. Although the level of rain was high, there were no floods to the level of drowning. Furthermore, many people were harmed by not being able to leave their workplace or where they were due to the risk of accidents.

Energy

The winds damaged antennas and internet and power networks, leaving many people without access. The largest number of power outages was recorded in Texas, by the company “CenterPoint Energy”, with a total of 657 thousand customers affected in the Houston area.

In Lousiana, the company hardest hit was Entergy, with just over 29 thousand customers affected.

It wasn't just the energy companies that suffered, the rains were so heavy that they blew out building windows, damaged power towers, felled trees, among others, many people entered businesses to take shelter during the storm and the lack of power using the rest of your batteries in your cell phone, as the only source of light. The main area affected by the rain was the city of Houston.

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_{Technicians observe the damage caused by gusts of wind and rain in Texas (Photo: reproduction/Cecile Clocheret/GettyImages Embed)}

Storm victims

Regarding the situation in Houston, where the highest number of deaths occurred, Mayor John Whitmire commented in an interview with local television Kriv that the storm, with hurricane force, hit the area on Thursday (16), causing the death of at least minus four people and ripping out windows from tall buildings. Furthermore, according to Houston Fire Department Chief Samuel Pena, two deaths were caused by fallen trees and another by a crane accident.

In Katy, another Texas city, muddy waters flooded a residential neighborhood that was also hit by winds that reached 161 kilometers per hour.

It is important to note that the National Meteorological Service issued a flood warning for the Houston region due to heavy rain linked to the storm, but the damage could not be avoided.

The rains continued to be even more intense in the Gulf Coast region, where more than 14 million people are at severe risk from the storms. The forecast is for the rains to stop today (18).

Featured photo: storm uproots tree that destroys facade of a house in Texas (Reproduction/Logan Riely/GettyImages Embed)