At least four people died in strong thunderstorms in the city of Houston, Texas, the Associated Press reported, quoted by BTA, referring to the local authorities.
The storms shattered windows on high-rise buildings, toppled trees and left nearly 900,000 homes, offices and stores without power in the Houston area, as southeast Texas was hit by such a storm for the second time this month.
Flash flood and severe thunderstorm warnings were issued yesterday for multiple counties, with damaging winds and even tornadoes expected for the evening, according to the National Weather Service in Houston.
"Seek shelter now if you are in the path of the storm. Head for the lowest floor!", warned the service in the social network "X".
Streets are flooded and trees and power lines are downed throughout the area. Local television showed footage of broken windows at an office building in downtown Houston and glass strewn across the street.
City officials urged residents not to drive on the roads, as many of them are impassable and traffic lights are not working.
Due to the bad weather, flights were canceled at the two major airports in Houston. At George Bush Intercontinental Airport sustained winds over 96 km/h were recorded.
According to poweroutage.us, more than 870,000 customers were without power in Harris County (which includes Houston) and the surrounding area. Over 4.7 million people live in the county.
Today's classes have been cancelled.