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

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Thousands of people are still without power, and about 24,000 households still lack internet access after the deadly storms that ripped through the Houston area last week.

"It's a disaster area. A friend of mine called it a hellscape," Tammis Thomas said of a giant tree split over a fence.

In the front, there are piles of debris. Thomas has spent most of the day on the front stoop of the Sunset Heights home with her dog, Polo.

It is cooler outside than it is 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 one of about 24,000 Comcast customers in the Houston area without internet. She's fortunate to be able to charge her phone with 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 so many, internet service is vital for emergency care. For others, it's a livelihood.

Teann Parker works two jobs remotely from her home in the Yorkdale neighborhood, near West Little York and Highway 290. Her internet was just reconnected Wednesday afternoon, but the problem wasn't even her own electricity.

She had to wait until electricity was restored to the Comcast equipment that services 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 building, even six days after the storm, and this is a breaking point for Thomas.

"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 the kind of perpetual," she said. "When this happened, I was watching the news, and it's like, oh, hurricane season begins in two weeks, and it's going to be a very active season."

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