San Francisco, Nov 21 (IANS): A 'bomb cyclone' hit Washington, leaving one person dead and half a million without power.

Damage from fallen trees and downed wires was reported throughout the region. A woman died after a large tree fell onto a homeless encampment in Lynnwood during Tuesday night's storm, according to the South County Fire, Xinhua news agency reported.

More than half a million customers in Western Washington were without power for most of Tuesday night.

As of early Wednesday morning, more than 474,000 customers with the Puget Sound Energy were still in the dark. By 10 a.m., crews had managed to lower the number to 388,200.

Seattle City Light reported 112,600 customers without power late Tuesday in the city.

The strongest gusts reached 74 mph in Enumclaw, and the Seattle area saw gusts between 45 and 55 mph.

After peaking at 1:00 a.m. Wednesday, winds significantly dropped off by 4 a.m., according to the National Weather Service.