Residents in the Houston area who were affected by severe storms last week received some positive updates. Officials mentioned that power had been restored to a majority of the hundreds of thousands who were left without electricity and air conditioning due to the hot and humid weather.
The storms on Thursday caused widespread damage and resulted in at least seven deaths. Much of Houston was severely impacted as thunderstorms and very strong winds wreaked havoc, damaging buildings, uprooting trees, and causing damage to downtown skyscrapers.
Additionally, a tornado touched down near Cypress, a suburb northwest of Houston.
As of Sunday evening, 88% of customers in the Houston area had their power back, according to Paul Lock, a spokesperson for CenterPoint Energy.
“We anticipate that everyone will have their power restored by the end of business on Wednesday,” Lock said.
Volunteers prepare boxes of dry foods and fresh fruit (Via Tristan Miller/Shutterstock)
In Texas, more than 240,000 homes and businesses were still without power on Sunday evening, with most of them located in the Houston area. Louisiana also faced power outages affecting over 1,780 customers, attributed to strong winds and a suspected tornado.
CenterPoint Energy reported that 2,000 employees and over 5,000 contractors were actively working in the Houston area to restore electricity.
Lynnae Wilson, CenterPoint’s senior vice president of electric business, emphasized the urgency of restoring power, especially with the high temperatures affecting Houston and nearby communities.
“We understand how crucial it is to get the lights and air conditioning back on,” Wilson stated in a release.
