Houston restaurant owners scramble to get patrons to safety amid blistering derecho: ‘It was horrible’

HOUSTON — The owners of a popular Houston area Cajun restaurant are picking up the pieces after Thursday’s derecho blasted the region with winds estimated at 90-100 mph.

The Krab Junkie was full of customers when the storm rolled through at dinner time, and Pat and Marilyn Williams told of having to scramble to get their customers and staff to safety as wind-whipped debris swirled outside the building.

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“The first thing we noticed, was the skies got really, really dark,” Pat Williams told FOX Weather. “It was, you know, darkness that we probably hadn’t seen before. And, and, you know, we had customers sitting outside at a restaurant, went out to power on some lights on the outside seating. And, I mean, it was like a few moments later, this thing came so quickly that we didn’t really have a chance to make any moves.”

Wind damage at Houston’s Krab Junkie restaurant after a derecho blasted the city with 90-100 mph wind on May 16, 2024.

(Pat & Marilyn Williams, Krab Junkie / FOX Weather)

Marilyn Williams said it was quick because all of a sudden, they started seeing debris flying by the window. She said Pat corralled the customers into the lobby while she got the staff into the freezer.

“We got the notification saying the tornado is in your area. Take cover now,” Marilyn Williams said. “So I tried to get some of the people, and we tried to run to the freezer, to hide in there. And before you know it, it was just all we heard was the wind blowing and the door flew open, and it was… it was horrible.”

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Tornado Warnings were issued for Houston, but meteorologists with the National Weather Service later determined the damaging winds in the city were instead powered by an intense line of thunderstorms known as a derecho. Gusts likely reached 90 mph, NWS Houston meteorologists said.

“I’m from Houston, born and raised in Houston. My whole life, I’ve never experienced a tornado,” Pat Williams said. “Now I have experienced, I think, the worst storm was Hurricane Alicia… and this could have been even worse than Hurricane Alicia. But, other than that, you know, we’ve lived through storms, but nothing to this magnitude. This was different.”

After the storm passed, the Williams ventured out to look at the damage, which was extensive. Photos they shared from the moments after the storm showed trees toppled into part of the outdoor seating area, with tables and chairs knocked over, branches littering the ground, and what appears to be a trampoline wrapped around a pole just outside the front.  Marilyn says a tree fell across part of their building.

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Wind damage at Houston’s Krab Junkie restaurant after a derecho blasted the city with 90-100 mph wind on May 16, 2024.

(FOX Weather)

“We started trying to clean, you know, pick up some things, you know? I mean, it’s a lot of damage,” Pat Williams said. “We don’t even know the extent of the damage that we have, as far as numbers. A lot of things are damaged, I can tell you that. It’s really bad. It is a really bad situation for us.”

Over 500,000 people remain without power in Houston as of Saturday morning. Officials said seven people were killed in the storm.