‘Not a humane city’: Thousands of Houstonians remain without power, internet following deadly storms

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Thousands of residents are still without power, and about 24,000 households remain without internet access following last week’s devastating storms in the Houston area.

“It’s a disaster area. A friend of mine called it a hellscape,” said Tammis Thomas, describing the scene of a massive tree split over a fence. In front of her Sunset Heights home, there are piles of debris. Thomas has spent most of the day on her front stoop with her dog, Polo, finding it cooler outside than inside.

“I’m done with this. It’s not a way to live,” Thomas said. “It’s not a humane city, I don’t think.”

Thomas is also among the 24,000 Comcast customers in Houston without internet. She is fortunate enough to charge her phone using a neighbor’s generator.

“For example, if my 89-year-old mother lived in Houston alone, it would be a disaster for her,” she said.

For many, internet service is crucial for emergency care and a livelihood. Teann Parker, who works two jobs remotely from her home in the Yorkdale neighborhood near West Little York and Highway 290, experienced a recent reconnection of her internet service on Wednesday afternoon. However, the issue wasn’t with her own electricity; she had to wait for the power to be restored to the Comcast equipment servicing her neighborhood.

“I have missed quite a bit of work, and you assume that once the power is back on, you can resume life as normal,” Parker said.

Frustration is mounting six days after the storm, and Thomas has reached her breaking point.

“It’s a build-up. It’s not as if this is my first rodeo in Houston, a disaster rodeo. I don’t think other people live with this kind of perpetual crisis,” she said. “When this happened, I was watching the news, and they said hurricane season begins in two weeks and it’s going to be a very active season.”