Houston, Texas Power Outage Map: Nearly 800,000 People Without Power

Severe storms hit southeast Texas on Thursday, killing four people, downing trees and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of homes in and around the Houston area.

Houston Mayor John Whitmire confirmed the four deaths during a news conference Thursday evening while encouraging all nonessential workers to stay home Friday. Whitmire also said the storm had winds of 100 mph, which he said was the equivalent of Hurricane Ike in 2008.

“Please do not drive in downtown Houston tonight, or anywhere else in the area that experienced storm damage,” the National Weather Service office that serves Houston and Galveston on social media. “Debris, glass and power lines are scattered across the streets. Follow the recommendations of local media and emergency management officials.”

Flights were grounded at Houston’s two main airports due to weather conditions. Sustained winds exceeding 60 mph were recorded at Bush Intercontinental Airport, the Associated Press reports. The Houston Independent School District also canceled classes Friday at all of its schools.

Texas Power Outage Map

More than 772,000 power outages were reported statewide as of 6 a.m. PT Friday morning, according to a USA TODAY power outage tracker.

More than 414,000 outages were reported in Harris County, by far the highest total in the state. Fort Bend County reported more than 29,000 outages, while Chambers County reported more than 24,000 outages.

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