four people died in ‘exceptional’ storm in Houston

Four people died on Thursday, May 16, in Houston, the fourth most populous city in the United States, during a “exceptional storm”, announced the mayor of this Texas town on local television. Although the circumstances of these deaths are not yet known, they could be “mainly due to falling trees or people stuck in their cars”clarified John Whitmire.

“We experienced significant damage to downtown office buildings, which lost their windows. (…) More than 800,000 families are without electricity”, added the elected Texan Democrat. Schools in this city of 2.4 million inhabitants will be closed on Friday.

Images broadcast by local television channels and on social networks show how, under the power of the gusts, which reached up to 160 km/h, trees and electricity poles fell and windows of buildings were blown away. in fragments.