Severe Storms in Houston Leave Four Dead, Hundreds of Thousands Without Power

Four people have died, and hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses are without power in Texas following severe storms that struck the Houston area on Thursday night.

Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña reported that two people were killed by fallen trees and one in a crane accident, though these causes are preliminary and not officially confirmed. No details were provided about the fourth death.

The storms caused heavy rain, flooding, and damage to downtown buildings, including busted windows. In Harris County, which encompasses Houston, about 782,000 homes and businesses were without power around 1 a.m. CT, down from 880,000 earlier in the night. Statewide, power outages affected approximately 904,000 customers early Friday, down from over 1 million Thursday evening.