Texas: Storms leave one dead and more than 750,000 customers without power in Dallas-Fort Worth area

Hail and intense wind gusts hit eastern Texas on Tuesday.

Tormentas en Dallas-Fot Worth. — (NBC News)

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28 de mayo, 2024

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Thunderstorms in Texas left one person dead and thousands without power on Tuesday. The victim, a 16-year-old teenager, was in Montgomery County. According to the local Sheriff's Office, he was working in the Magnolia neighborhood when the storms and strong winds knocked down the houses he was working on. He and other workers attempted to take shelter in one of the homes, but he failed to do so in time.

Power is another major problem. At around 3:30 a.m. this morning, a total of 518,395 homes in Texas claimed to be without power, Poweroutage.us reported. Among these buildings are several hospitals that are currently running on generators. According to Judge Clay Jenkins on X, the power problems could last "several days." For that reason, he announced, he had decided to institute a "disaster declaration":

Closure of schools and universities

The storm has also caused school closures in several school districts in Central and North Texas. An example of this was the Garland district. Through a statement published on X, the organization assured that no classes would be held on Wednesday, although maintenance workers will be on duty.

The University of Texas at Dallas also closed its doors. Through a press release, the educational center assured that this Wednesday they would not hold on-campus classes and that they would instead hold classes telematically:

The UT Dallas Richardson campus will be closed on Wednesday, May 29, as we continue to assess and repair damage from Tuesday morning’s severe weather and as Oncor works to restore power to portions of campus. In-person classes will shift to remote learning.

Dallas-Fort Worth area hardest hit by storms

The strong storms that hit eastern Texas this Tuesday with intense hail and aggressive wind gusts of more than 77 miles per hour caused power outages for more than 750,000 residents in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area.

According to the website PowerOutage.us, Dallas County alone accounted for the majority of power outages, with more than 380,000 customers affected by the storms.

In counties adjacent to Dallas such as Tarrant, Collin and Denton, around 160,000 users suffered the consequences of intense hail and wind.

The storms are predicted continue in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. According to the National Weather Service (NWS), the rain is expected to cause flooding, although the intensity of the hail is expected to decrease and the winds to subside.

Over the past weekend, at least 21 people died in several southern states due to the storm, according to NBC News.