Some power restored in Humberto’s path

HOUSTON – Utility crews restored electricity Friday to half of the homes and businesses left without power after Hurricane Humberto, while experts estimated total damages from the storm would cost less than $500 million.

Humberto, the first hurricane to hit the U.S. in two years, continued to lose strength Friday as its remnants moved through Mississippi to the East Coast. The storm made landfall Thursday in Texas and then pushed across Louisiana.

The storm left as many as 120,000 Texas and Louisiana homes and businesses without power. While many would be restored by the weekend, some could be without power until Tuesday, said Joe Domino, Entergy Texas president and chief executive officer.

At High Island, the coastal town of 500 where the center of Humberto made landfall, many customers, including the local water utility, had generators for essential needs and kept fresh water flowing from taps.

The remnants of Humberto were in northwestern Georgia on Friday afternoon and moving northeast, according to the National Weather Service. Maximum sustained winds were only 15 mph and an inch or two of rain was likely.

In the Carolinas, the remnants of the storm collided with a cold front, leading to wind and heavy rain and even sightings of funnel clouds.