Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo leaving Washington to come back to help with storm damage recovery

Judge Hidalgo said she was in Washington, D.C. this week but would be returning to help respond to the incident.

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — In a statement released late Thursday night, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said she would be leaving Washington to come back to the Houston area and assist with the cleanup after devastating storms moved through Southeast Texas.

Hidalgo didn't say why she was in Washington but did provide some insight on how the county will respond.

"I know that many people lived through and are still living through scary situations with the terrible strong winds that blew across our county tonight. What we know so far is that at least four people are reported dead, there are widespread power outages and infrastructure damage to the power grid, as well as significant property damage," Hidalgo said.

She went on to say county departments were working to clear as much debris as they could while also assessing the damage. She said initially it appeared that the damage was "very significant."

She said CenterPoint officials told her they'd be assessing damage into Friday and multiple transmission towers were knocked down on the west side of town. More than 40% of the city was without power in the wake of the storms. Hidalgo said 1,500 assistance crews were heading to the area to help restore the electricity.

"Please check on the people you know, call 911 if you’re in danger, and call 311 to report debris or downed trees. Look out for updates from your school district on whether the district will operate Friday," Hidalgo said.

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