Credits: NBC News
Houston, Texas – At least six people have died in Texas and one in Louisiana due to Hurricane Beryl, as efforts are underway to restore power to 2.1 million energy customers affected by the storm.
In Harris County, Texas, a 53-year-old man and a 74-year-old woman died when trees fell onto their homes, police reported. In Montgomery County, three people lost their lives: a man in his 40s struck by a tree while operating a tractor, and two individuals found dead in a tent in a wooded area in Magnolia.
The Houston Police Department confirmed that Russell Richardson, a 54-year-old information security officer, tragically drowned in rising floodwaters.
In Bossier Parish, Louisiana, Sheriff Julian Whittington reported that a woman was killed when a tree fell on her house.
Acting Texas Governor Dan Patrick announced Tuesday that a federal emergency disaster declaration through FEMA was granted after speaking with President Joe Biden to aid the state’s recovery efforts. Although Beryl has been downgraded to a tropical depression, more than 25 million people from Arkansas to Michigan remained under flood watches as the storm moved northeast.
The National Weather Service warned that up to 5 inches of rain and severe thunderstorms, with the potential for tornadoes, are expected in the storm’s path. On Monday, there were 110 tornado warnings, a record for any July day, including 67 in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Hurricane Beryl made landfall on Monday as a Category 1 hurricane with sustained winds of 80 mph, leading to at least six fatalities in Texas.
In Wharton, Texas, Sarah Glass and her husband narrowly escaped death when an enormous tree crashed into their home. “We were in the living room and moved away — that’s where all that spiked wood came down from the ceiling, so we probably would have been killed,” she told NBC News.
As of Tuesday afternoon, over 2.1 million customers were without power, including 1.7 million CenterPoint Energy customers in the Houston area. The company reported restoring over 1 million connections in the past 24 hours and aims to reconnect another million by the end of Wednesday. However, high waters have hindered crews’ efforts after more than a foot of rain fell in the last 24 hours.
Fallen trees and strong winds have downed power lines across Greater Houston, exacerbating the impact due to the storm’s slightly altered course.
“We haven’t really slept,” said Eva Costancio, a resident of Rosenberg, a Houston suburb. She expressed concern about losing food in her refrigerator after being without power for several hours. “We are struggling to have food and losing that food would be difficult,” she told The Associated Press.
Houston opened cooling centers on Tuesday amid a heat advisory, with heat indices forecasted to reach as high as 105 degrees in parts of Southeast Texas. The National Weather Service warned that the widespread loss of power and air conditioning posed dangerous conditions for residents.
Galveston Mayor Craig Brown reported no fatalities or serious injuries but noted extensive structural damage in the city.