In an evening update on May 19, Houston Mayor John Whitmire reiterated the city remained in a locally declared disaster following a barrage of storms that brought damage and power outages last week.
As part of that, Whitmire asked residents to minimize their travel as workers continue to repair traffic lights and clean up broken glass and debris.
“I can’t emphasize enough the dangers of traveling where traffic lights are broken,” Whitmire said.
In downtown Houston, officials are setting up an “exclusion zone” from Louisiana to Travis streets, and from McKinney to Polk streets, Whitmire said.
Workers will be in that area fixing broken windows, Whitmire said. The mayor did not indicate how long the zone will be in place.
Meanwhile, more residents are getting power back by the hour, but just over 287,000 customers remain without it, according to CenterPoint's outage tracker as of 6:30 p.m.
CenterPoint has more than 7,000 workers working on repairs to restore power across much of northern Harris County, according to its website. CenterPoint officials in a May 19 social media post said they expect 80% of those affected to have power back by the evening.
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To see CenterPoint’s outage tracker, as well as estimations on when power may be back in certain areas, click here.
Whitmire said Houston ISD will have school on May 20, but 56 of the district’s 274 schools still are without power.
The city will also begin collecting debris on May 20, Whitmire said. Those with tree debris can place it by their curbs. The city will be “working around the clock” to pick it up, Whitmire said.
Whitmire also said management at some assisted living facilities throughout the city have not been providing assistance to their tenants since the storm hit, going as far as to say in some cases the tenants were “abandoned.” He highlighted efforts from several stakeholders who stepped in to fill the role.
He asked residents to check on their elderly relatives who live at these homes.
Updated 4 p.m. May 19
Approximately 80% of impacted customers are anticipated to have their power restored by the evening of May 19, CenterPoint Energy officials announced via a social media post May 19.
A map of estimated restoration times can be found by clicking here, according to the post. To receive restoration updates for a specific address, sign up for Power Alert Service by clicking here.
Updated 1:30 p.m. May 19
Harris County Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia announced in a Facebook post three cooling centers are open in Precinct 2 on May 19 though 7 p.m. These three cooling/charging centers will also be open through May 22 from 10 a.m.-7 p.m.
- BakerRipley-Aldine, 3000 Aldine Mail Route Road, Houston
- Leonel J. Castillo Community Center, 2101 South St., Houston,
- Leon Grayson/Baldree Community Center, 13828 Corpus Christi St., Houston
A map provided by CenterPoint shows estimated times for restoration through May 22, and the company stated restoration should be "substantially complete to customers who are available to receive service by end of day Wednesday."
Updated 10:10 p.m.
Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones shared updated times for food, water and ice distribution on May 19 at Precinct 4's three distribution sites at Bayland, Radack and Weekley community centers.
Food, water and ice distribution times at those three sites will be from 3-5 p.m., according to the news release.
The cooling and charging centers at Bayland and Tracy Gee community centers will remain from 10 a.m.-7 p.m., she said.
An additional update from Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo on May 18 urged residents to apply for federal disaster assistance if it is needed. Information is available at www.readyharris.org, she said.
She also said CenterPoint estimates restoring power to 90% of customers by Wednesday.
However, she said some customers may have damage on their properties which must be repaired by an electrician before power can be restored.
Updated 7:17 p.m.
As power remains out for hundreds of thousands of Houstonians, the city of Houston announced cooling and distributions centers for Sunday, May 19.
Cooling centers will run at the same locations as those running on May 18, including:
- Metropolitan Multi-Service Center, open from 8 a.m.-7 p.m. at 1745 W. Gray St., Houston
- Acres Homes Multi-Service Center, open from 8 a.m.-7 p.m. at 6719 W. Montgomery Road, Houston
- Sunnyside Health and Multi-Service Center, open from 8 a.m.-7 p.m. at 4410 Reed Road, Houston
- Kingwood Community Center, open from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. at 4102 Rustic Woods, Kingwood
- Woodland Community Center, open from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. at 212 Parkview St., Houston
- Salvation Army, open from noon-4 p.m. at 12507 Windfern Road, Houston
- M.D. Anderson Family YMCA, open from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at 705 Cavalcade St., Houston
- Lincoln Park Community Center, open from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at 979 Greenshaw St., Houston
- Julia C. Hester Houston, open from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at 2020 Solo St., Houston
- Leonel J. Castillo Community Center, open from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. at 2101 South St., Houston
- Leon Grayson/Baldree Community Center, open from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. at 13828 Corpus Christi St., Houston
- Bayland Community Center, open from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. at 6400 Bissonnet St., Houston
- Tracy Gee Community Center, open from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. at 3599 Westcenter Drive, Houston
- Radack Community Center, open from 3-5 p.m. at 18650 Clay Road, Houston
- Weekley Community Center, open from 3-5 p.m. at 8440 Greenhouse Road, Cypress
During a press conference May 18, officials provided updates following severe weather that swept through the Houston area May 16.In a nutshell
Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones held a press conference alongside Houston Mayor John Whitmire, U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, state Rep. Gene Wu and other officials."
We know that it is getting hotter by the minute," Briones said. "We know that approximately 500,000 people are still without power here in the Harris County region. We know that CenterPoint is working around the clock to address this. But it could be multiple days before power is restored."
Briones also confirmed the death toll from the storms rose to seven.
Something to note
During his remarks at the press conference, Whitmire said the Texas Department of Transportation is bringing in additional resources to aid in recovery efforts.
TxDOT confirmed that out of the 1,100 signals in its system throughout the Houston District, there are 125 in need of repair and restoration, according to a May 18 news release.
Whitmire also requested people be patient.
"We understand the discomfort," Whitmire said. "But if you're not patient, it becomes a security issue. You must be very cautious when you drive through where the traffic lights are not operating."
More details
Rodney Reed, assistant chief with the Harris County Fire Marshal's Office, said between 6 p.m.-midnight May 16 the fire departments on the west side of Harris County experienced a 300% increase in calls for service."
A normal Thursday night is about 64 calls for service and they experienced 256 that night," Reed said.
Reed also said within the west side of unincorporated Harris County, there are over 411 STEAR, or State of Texas Emergency Assistance Registry registrants, who have various medical fragilities and power needs.
"[We] immediately started reaching out to them," Reed said. "We have completed that and even went out to those locations if they were unable to [reach] them on the phone so that they could ... make sure they were safe."
What they're saying
- “Our crews are working diligently to restore our traffic signals and efforts to recover to normal operations across the Houston District, including Harris, Montgomery, Fort Bend, and Waller counties. To expedite restoration, TxDOT is leveraging our forces to get our system up and operating.” —Eliza Paul, district engineer, TxDOT Houston District
- "I will be here to work on this in Texas's Seventh Congressional District and to work with my colleagues in our Houston congressional delegation. We are all united in working together to do everything that we can to advance the needs of our community at this time." —U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, D-Houston
Editor's note: This story has been updated with information from the Harris County Clerk's Office.
As Houston recovers from severe weather and widespread power outages that occurred May 16, resource centers are opening across the county.
What you need to know
Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones announced four cooling, charging and distribution centers will be open May 18-19. They include:
- Bayland Community Center, serving as a cooling, charging and distribution center open from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Food and water distribution will begin at 2:30 p.m. until supplies run out.
- Tracy Gee Community Center, serving as a cooling and charging center open from 10 a.m.-7 p.m.
- Radack Community Center, serving as a drive-up distribution center offering water and ice starting at 10 a.m. until supplies run out; and food and water starting at 2:30 p.m. until supplies run out. On May 19, the center will only distribute food and water.
- Weekley Community Center, serving as a drive-up distribution center offering food and water starting at 2:30 p.m. until supplies run out. On May 19, the center will also distribute water and ice starting at 10 a.m. until supplies run out.
They include:
- Fifth Ward Multi-Service Center, open from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at 4014 Market St., Houston
- Salvation Army, open from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at 12507 Windfern Road, Houston
- Salvation Army, open from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at 4026 N. Interwood, Houston
- Northshore Fellowship Church, open from 3-5 p.m. at 444 Maxey St., Houston
- Iglesia Fe y Poder, open from 3-5 p.m. at 6714 Navigation Blvd., Houston
- Metropolitan Multi-Service Center, open from 8 a.m.-7 p.m. at 1745 W. Gray St., HoustonAcres Homes Multi-Service Center, open from 8 a.m.-7 p.m. at 6719 W. Montgomery Road, Houston
- Sunnyside Health and Multi-Service Center, open from 8 a.m.-7 p.m. at 4410 Reed Road, Houston
- Kingwood Community Center, open from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. at 4102 Rustic Woods, Kingwood
- Woodland Community Center, open from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. at 212 Parkview St., Houston
- Greenhouse International Church at 200 W. Greens Road, Houston
- Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church, 11612 Memorial Drive, Houston
Officials with some Houston-area school districts provided updates on damage assessment and repair efforts that are ongoing.
As of 7 p.m. May 17, Houston ISD officials said power remained out at 122 district campuses with no estimate on when it will be restored. Power had been restored at several campuses since the district's previous update at noon May 17, when power was out at 136 campuses.
Four of the district's most damaged buildings—Paige, Sinclair, Pugh and Robinson elementary schools—"should be able to serve students once power is restored," according to an email communication sent to families.
Food distribution sites are operating at the Sam Houston Math Science and Technology Center and at Austin High School as of 9 a.m. May 18, for families who have been affected by the storm and are in need of food.
Schools were closed at a number of other local districts on May 17, including Cy-Fair, Spring, Klein, Magnolia and Tomball ISDs. Schools are slated to reopen in each of those five districts May 20, according to the most recent updates available.
What else?
The Harris County Clerk also confirmed the May 16 storms affected county election facilities.
The Election Technology Center sustained roof damage and lost power while another building where election worker training is housed was deemed uninhabitable, Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth said in a May 17 statement posted to Facebook. The availability of vote centers is also uncertain, she said.
"I have been in constant communication with the Texas Secretary of State, members of the commissioners' court, the county attorney, and the chairs of both major political parties," Hudspeth said in the statement. "We will continue to review the status of facilities, the early voting and election day infrastructure, and, most importantly, our ability to conduct the May 28 primary runoff elections."
Early voting for the May 28 primary runoff is set to begin May 20, according to prior reporting.
How we got here
The city experienced severe weather, with winds ranging between 80-100 mph, officials said in a press conference May 17. Residents were urged to stay away from Downtown Houston as glass from blown-out windows, fallen trees and other debris littered the streets.
In a post on the social platform X, the National Weather Service confirmed an EF-1 tornado touched down near Cypress with winds peaking at 110 mph. The NWS also confirmed straight-line winds in Downtown Houston and the Baytown/Galena Park area peaked at around 100 mph and between 90-100 mph, respectively.
Hannah Brol and Vanessa Holt contributed to this report.
