Severe storms blast through Texas, leaving 4 dead. See photos, videos of damage

Alexis Simmerman, Christopher Cann and Dinah Voyles Pulver, Austin American-Statesman
·2 min read
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Powerful storms hit Texas Thursday evening, bringing heavy rain and winds up to 80 mph. The severe weather left four dead, a million without power, and damaged countless trees and buildings.

The Houston area seems to have taken the brunt of the damage, prompting Mayor John Whitmire to urge people to stay off the roads.

"We had a storm with 100 mph winds, the equivalent of Hurricane Ike, with considerable damage downtown," Whitmire said. Areas in the northwest, downtown, and the east side of town were "hit hard," and "most of the traffic lights" in the city were down.

People are also reading: Four dead after severe storms lash Texas; tornadoes, floods loom in Southeast U.S.

Daylight creeping across Houston Friday morning revealed most of the large, tall office buildings in the central business district had lost their windows and glass.

"We're still in a recovery mode," Whitmire said, adding the state was sending workers from the Texas Department of Public Safety to help secure downtown Houston.

WATCH: Severe storms tear through the Houston area

SEE: Extent of storm damage revealed Friday morning

MAP: Texas power outages

As of 7 a.m. CT Friday, over 772,000 power outages had been reported across Texas, according to our USA TODAY Network power outage tracker.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas storms cause power outages, 4 deaths: Photos, videos of damage