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Crazy storm took down houses in Texas, kills 7
Residential areas were strewn with downed trees and power wires, and the National Weather Service verified that a tornado made landfall in the Cypress suburb.
According to authorities on Friday, the number of fatalities from the extreme weather that pounded Houston, Texas, has increased to seven.
The fourth-largest US city, Houston, was struck on Thursday by intense rain and winds of up to 100 miles per hour (160 kilometers per hour), which resulted in downtown streets completely coated in broken glass from blown-out windows. This led to the three further deaths.
Residential areas were strewn with downed trees and power wires, and the National Weather Service verified that a tornado made landfall in the Cypress suburb.
One of the latest victims, according to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, was an 85-year-old woman who perished after a lightning strike caused her mobile home to catch fire.
A 60-year-old man was found unresponsive and pronounced dead after going to his truck to try and power his oxygen tank, after electricity was cut across wide swaths of the storm-hit area.
And a 57-year-old man collapsed and died after trying to move a downed power pole.
Houston Mayor John Whitmire said Thursday after the storm that four people died, though specifics were not immediately available.
Schools in Houston, home to 2.3 million people with an economy centered around oil and petrochemicals, were closed on Friday and non-essential workers urged to stay home.
AFP
