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Storms kill one, leave tens of thousands without power in Texas

26 December 2012 03:14 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Strong winds and rain cut off power to tens of thousands of homes and caused at least one death in the U.S. state of Texas on Christmas day, U.S. APA reports quoting Xinhua.

Parts of east Texas and the city of Houston were under a tornado watch for most of the holiday, the National Weather Service said.

A powerful storm toppled a tree onto a pickup truck in the Houston area Tuesday morning, killing the driver, according to the website of The Houston Chronicle.

The 25-year-old, whose identity has not been released, was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency responders, the report said.

At the height of Tuesday's storm, some 69,000 homes were reportedly without power in the Houston region. By late afternoon, CenterPoint Energy reported 26,500 customers remained without power.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Midwest was bracing for heavy snow and ice. Freezing rain was blamed for a 21-vehicle pileup in Oklahoma.

Multiple thunderstorms also caused mass power outage in Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi, according to media reports.