Severe storms kill at least 4 in Houston

Houston: A severe storm in Houston, the fourth-largest city in the US, has killed at least four people and left over 800,000 homes and businesses without power.

The Houston school district closed all public schools on Friday and said they would reopen on Monday. Flights were grounded at the city’s two major airports because of the weather. Sustained winds topping 60 mph were recorded at Bush Intercontinental Airport. At least four people were killed due to the storm, Houston Mayor John Whitmire told reporters in a news briefing on Thursday night, “We have a storm with 100 mph winds, the equivalent of Hurricane Ike, considerable damage downtown.”

Whitmire said that the region may have been hit by tornadoes as well and urged people to “stay at home”.

“I ask everyone to be patient, look out for your neighbours. It will take 24 hours for a lot of this power to be restored, some will require 48 hours.”

Houston Fire Chief Samuel Pena told reporters that of the four fatalities, at least two were caused by fallen trees, while another due to a “crane that was blown over by the wind”.

The wind estimated to be in excess of 70 mph

toppled trees, blew out windows of high-rise buildings and caused transmission towers holding power lines to crumble.