Hurricane Beryl, which made landfall in the southern United States on Monday as a category one hurricane, has left a trail of destruction across Texas and Louisiana.
The hurricane was a powerful Category 5 storm that tore through Jamaica and the Caribbean in early July. The storm, now downgraded to a tropical depression, has claimed at least eight lives and caused widespread power outages affecting nearly three million people.
7 Fatalities in Houston
The impact of the hurricane has been particularly severe in the Houston area, where at least seven fatalities have been reported. In Harris County, which includes parts of Houston, three deaths have been confirmed:
- A 53-year-old man died when falling power lines and a tree crushed his home, causing the roof to collapse.
- Maria Loredo, a 73-year-old grandmother, lost her life when a tree crashed through her roof. According to CBS affiliate KHOU, Loredo’s family reported that she was home with her son, daughter-in-law, and two grandchildren, aged two and seven, at the time of the incident. Miraculously, no other family members were injured.
- Russell Richardson, a 54-year-old Houston Police Department employee, drowned while attempting to navigate through high water on his way to work.
In neighboring Montgomery County, three more lives were lost: A man operating a tractor was killed when a tree fell on him. Two homeless individuals perished when a tree collapsed onto their tent.
The storm’s reach extended into Louisiana, where one person in the town of Benton died after a tree fell on their home, bringing the total death toll to eight.
2.6 Million Customers in Texas Without Electricity
The hurricane’s impact on infrastructure has been significant. Houston’s main airport saw over 1,100 flight cancellations on Monday. The storm’s powerful winds, with sustained speeds of 75mph (120km/h) and gusts reaching 87mph in the Houston area, have caused extensive damage to power grids.
As of Monday night, approximately 2.6 million customers in Texas were without electricity, with additional outages reported in Louisiana.
CenterPoint Energy, a major Texas utility provider, has been hit hardest by Hurricane Beryl’s power outages. PowerOutage.us reported that almost 2 million of the company’s customers were without electricity on Monday night.
Despite preparations for the storm, CenterPoint Energy acknowledged that Beryl’s impact exceeded their projections. The company stated:
“The storm veered off the originally expected course and more heavily impacted the company’s customers, systems and infrastructure than previously anticipated, resulting in outages to more than 2.26 million customers at its peak.”
This deviation from the forecast path led to more extensive damage to the utility’s infrastructure than they had initially prepared for, leaving a significant portion of their customer base in the dark.
Tornadoes in Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas
The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued warnings about the potential for tornadoes in Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas on Monday night, with the risk shifting to several Midwestern states on Tuesday. According to the National Weather Service, Beryl is expected to,
“Bring very heavy rain, damaging hurricane-force winds and life-threatening storm surge to the Texas coast.”
Emergency response efforts are underway, with more than 2,500 responders, including members of the Texas National Guard, ready to assist in the aftermath of Beryl.
U.S. Senator for Kentucky, Rand Paul, shared on social media the devastation that hurricane Beryl left in its wake.
This hurricane is part of what experts predict to be an unusually active Atlantic hurricane season. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has forecasted up to seven major hurricanes this year, significantly higher than the average of three per season.
