Hurricane Beryl, a Category 1 storm, made landfall in Texas on Monday, bringing with it powerful winds and heavy rains that knocked out power to nearly three million homes and businesses. The storm, which had previously cut a deadly path through Mexico and the Caribbean, damaged transmission lines and downed trees, causing widespread outages. At least three people were killed as a result of the storm, with two deaths attributed to trees falling on houses.
The storm surge pushed water ashore, flooding streets and forcing evacuations in several coastal towns. In Houston, high waters quickly closed streets, and the city was under a flash-flood warning for most of the morning. Emergency crews were busy rescuing stranded residents, including one man who was forced to climb to the roof of his pickup truck after it became trapped in fast-flowing waters.
Over 1,000 flights were cancelled at Houston’s two airports, and thousands of workers were being brought in to help with power restoration efforts. The storm was expected to weaken to a tropical storm by Monday and a tropical depression by Tuesday, but officials warned that the threat was far from over.
Hurricane Beryl
Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick expressed concern that not enough residents and beach vacationers had heeded warnings to leave the storm’s path. “One of the things that kind of trigger our concern a little bit, we’ve looked at all of the roads leaving the coast and the maps are still green,” he said. “So we don’t see many people leaving.”
The storm’s center was expected to move over eastern Texas on Monday and then through the lower Mississippi Valley and the Ohio Valley on Tuesday and Wednesday. The National Hurricane Centre warned of damaging winds and flash flooding, and flood warnings were in effect across a wide stretch of the Texas coast.
As the state works to recover from the storm, officials are urging residents to remain vigilant and take necessary precautions. Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who was traveling overseas, remained in contact with emergency officials and issued a statement reassuring the public that their safety was the top priority.
