Downtown Houston riddled with glass and other debris after destructive storm tears out windows of high-rise buildings

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Downtown Houston was hit as hard, if not harder, than any other area during Thursday night’s destructive storms.

The video shows countless windows of high-rise buildings blown out, with broken glass and other debris strewn all over the roads below.

“I was on the 25th floor when it happened,” one witness said. “We could literally feel the building shaking. And then the ceiling tiles were collapsing.”

ABC13 reporter Courtney Carpenter surveyed the damage downtown Friday morning. At the corner of Louisiana Street and McKinney Street, glass, tree branches and insulation littered the ground.

In other areas, streetlights and signs dangled from wires.

SEE ALSO: Destructive storms cause damage in Houston area

Windows were blown out in the Wells Fargo building, among several other high-rise buildings on the same street.

“Because there is glass everywhere. You can hear the crackling of the glass,” said a woman standing among the debris.

The Hyatt Hotel downtown was another building that was affected by the winds. Guests and staff ran for cover as rain and debris fell inside the building’s famous atrium. No injuries were reported.

“Really strange, really strange,” recalls another witness.

A small Congress building in Travis, which houses a bar, lost an entire brick wall on one side of the building. Electrical cables dangled out of the gaping hole and bricks littered the parking lot. It’s unclear if anyone was in the building when the storm hit.

There were a lot of people downtown when the storm hit just after 6 p.m. Some people were leaving work, while others were here at the Houston Astros game at Minute Maid Park.

Video taken during the storm shows strong winds rushing through the streets.

Mayor John Whitmire on Friday asked downtown businesses to let their employees work from home so people can stay safe and crews can begin cleanup efforts.

“Downtown is a mess. It’s dangerous because of the glass and lack of traffic lights, so stay home. I can’t stress this enough and repeat it enough: stay home tonight , stay home tomorrow unless you are an essential worker,” Whitmire said. “City of Houston employees are working from home. HISD school is closed, so we have the opportunity to move into full recovery mode.”

RELATED: 4 people dead after storms ravage Houston, city officials say

In the first hours after the storm, the mayor’s office confirmed that at least four people had died.

Recovery efforts had already begun Friday morning. Officials with the Texas Department of Public Safety were working to secure the area.

After the wind and rain stopped and damage began to become apparent, ABC13 chief forecaster David Tillman said the situation was the worst non-hurricane windstorm to hit the city ​​of Houston for at least 25 years.

For more information, follow Courtney Carpenter on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.