The deadly Houston wind storm reportedly left between $5 billion and $7 billion in damage

The Houston metropolitan area suffered one of the costliest disasters in its history due to a powerful wind storm that claimed the lives of at least seven people, according to estimates shared by AccuWeather, a weather services company.

AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jon Porter told ABC13 that the damage assessment from the storm that passed through the city and Harris County on Thursday night estimates losses between $5 billion and $7 billion. Porter compared the effects of this storm to past extreme weather events, such as 2022's Hurricane Nicole, which cost $11 billion, and 2017's Hurricane Harvey, which caused $200 billion in inflation-adjusted damage.

"Oftentimes there are damaging wind events in Houston, but they tend to be fairly localized. What was unique about this storm was the intensity of the wind gusts - 80 to 100 or more mph over a widespread area from the northwest suburbs right into downtown and into the southeast part of Houston," he said.

Porter also explained that his team arrived at these figures taking into consideration factors such as damage to businesses and homes, job losses, and power outages, among others.

He also urged residents of Southeast Texas to develop an effective natural disaster plan as the official start of hurricane season approaches. “Having all this damage right before the beginning of the official start of the hurricane season is a major concern,” he said.

Images shared through social media showed trees knocked down on homes, fallen electricity towers and skyscrapers in downtown Houston with broken windows, evidencing the impact of the meteorological phenomenon.