Power Could Be Out For Days Houston, Galveston, And Surrounding Counties

Strong winds and rains from Tropical Storm Nicholas have knocked out power for more than 400,000 households along the Texas Gulf Coast.

It may be days before power is completely restored, warned the power company CenterPoint Energy.

The majority of those without electricity are CenterPoint customers in Galveston, Brazoria, Matagorda, Chambers, Warton, and Waller counties, according to PowerOutage.US. Customers of other electric companies in these areas are also being impacted.

Around 90,000 households in Harris County have reported outages after TS Nicholas' strong winds downed power lines, tripped transformers, and damaged other electrical equipment.

CenterPoint crews are currently assessing the outages and have started restoring power to facilities vital to health and safety, like hospitals, water treatment plants, and public service facilities.

Worst case scenario, it will take five to seven days to restore electricity, the company told KTRK. The company is optimistic that it won't take that long.

"We are committed to restoring service to our customers as safely and quickly as possible. However, patience will be important as some areas of our system and equipment may be difficult to reach for our crews due to safety-related issues, such as downed trees," said CenterPoint Executive Vice President Kenny Mercado.