Examine your protection – Houston storm victims ought to contact provider, dealer says

4 persons are useless and almost 1 million houses and companies had been with out energy Friday after extreme thunderstorms battered the Houston space and components of Louisiana.

The storms, which hit the world Thursday, included hurricane-force winds that toppled timber and transmission towers and blew home windows out of downtown buildings, in keeping with a report by the Related Press.

The storms have introduced the town to a digital standstill, with college canceled for greater than 400,000 college students and metropolis crews scrambling to clear fallen timber and restore energy. Metropolis officers urged Houston residents to not go to work Friday except they’re thought of important employees. Residents have additionally been urged to remain off the roads, a lot of that are flooded, the AP reported.

Houston Mayor John Whitmire mentioned throughout a Thursday night time briefing that wind speeds had reached 100mph throughout the storm, and a few tornadoes had been noticed. He mentioned the excessive winds had been harking back to Hurricane Ike, which hit the world in 2008.

Charlene Okenkpu, consumer companies supervisor and licensed insurance coverage agent at TGS Insurance coverage Company in Houston, informed Insurance coverage Enterprise that the company had been unusually busy since opening at 8am Friday as shoppers referred to as for assist with insurance coverage points.

Okenkpu suggested shoppers to test their coverages earlier than doing anything.

“They need to attain out to both their dealer or provider on to inquire on the declare first earlier than submitting to verify the harm exceeds their deductible,” she mentioned.

Okenkpu mentioned the TGS workplace had weathered the storm efficiently.

“We’re positive. We had been caught within the constructing yesterday till the tornadoes handed,” she mentioned. “A variety of us are nonetheless with out energy. A few of us weren’t in a position to get in as we speak due to timber within the highway.”

Whitmer mentioned throughout the Thursday briefing that 4 individuals had died throughout the storm. At the very least two deaths had been attributable to falling timber, and one other occurred when sturdy winds blew a crane over, the AP reported.

The storms weren’t over as of Friday. The AP reported that Gulf Coast states might proceed to see scattered, extreme thunderstorms with tornadoes, excessive winds and hail. Flood watches and warnings had been nonetheless in impact for Houston and areas to the east as of Friday.

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