As of noon on Wednesday 61% of Houston Centerpoint Customers are still without power. That’s 1.37 million people, not counting surrounding areas effected by the storm. Power appears to be coming back on-line in smaller cities surrounding Houston which is good for first responders.

As power is restored to smaller towns outside of Houston, evacuees are scheduled to be bussed back into the region. They will arrive at shelters hoping to find their cars and homes intact. It is probably premature for evacuees without independent transportation to be returned to devastated area.

Traffic lights are not working and nobody is directing traffic at busy intersections. traffic is resuming as citizens seek supplies and try to return to work. Residents report they have not seen a Houston police officer since the storm hit.

Debris clean up has begun, both by residents and truck crews, but line repairs trucks are not evident in densely populated areas.

Supplies are not adequate in the area and locals are pooling resources as best they can. Gasoline, ice, and water are at a premium.

The vast majority of businesses are still closed and most people have not been called back to work. Unemployment and economic stress are emerging as a wide spread issue.

Information is still hard to find and evacuees are returning to the area mostly driven by the need to know what happened to their homes.

News coverage from national sources has dwindled to a trickle frustrating people in the region. Internet service is mostly unavailable in the region. Phone service remains spotty. Radio remains the primary source of updates.