Hurricane Beryl hits Texas, causing power outages for millions

At least seven people have died after Hurricane Beryl slammed into southeastern Texas and Louisiana, leaving nearly three million people without power.

Beryl struck the southern United States on Monday morning as a Category 1 hurricane, but has since weakened to a tropical depression.

Officials warned of devastating wind gusts, up to 15 inches (38 centimeters) of rainfall and “life-threatening” storm surges.

More than 1,100 flights were canceled at Houston’s main airport on Monday, according to flightaware.com.

According to poweroutage.us, 2.6 million customers in Texas were without power on Monday night. Some power outages were also reported in Louisiana.

The storm killed at least 10 people in the Caribbean.

Authorities said seven people have died in Harris and Montgomery counties in Texas, while another fatality was reported in neighboring Louisiana.

A 53-year-old man has died after winds downed power lines and a tree fell on his home in Harris County, causing his roof to collapse.

In the same county, which includes parts of Houston, 73-year-old grandmother Maria Loredo was found dead after a tree fell through the roof of her home, CBS station KHOU reported.

Loredo’s family told the news station that she was home with her son, his wife and her two grandchildren, ages 2 and 7, when the tree fell. No other family members were injured.

Also in Harris County, a Houston police officer, Russell Richardson, 54, drowned after trying to drive through high water on his way to work, Houston police said.

Another person has died in a house fire believed to have been caused by lightning, Houston’s mayor said.

Three people were also killed in Montgomery County. Officials say one man was killed when a tree fell on him while he was driving a tractor, and two homeless people died when a tree fell on their tent, KHOU reports.

Houston is a low-lying coastal city and therefore prone to flooding.

Sustained wind speeds in the Houston area reached 75 mph, with gusts up to 90 mph when the storm hit.

Beryl was expected to continue to weaken as the storm gradually moved north-northeast. However, a risk of flash flooding and heavy rainfall remained.

In Louisiana, where more than 30,000 people were without power Monday night due to the storm, one person died when a tree fell on her home in the town of Benton, a local sheriff said.

The National Weather Service (NWS) warned that Beryl could produce tornadoes in Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas on Monday night.

According to meteorologists, the risk of tornadoes on Tuesday shifts to Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio.

The ports of Corpus Christi, Houston, Galveston, Freeport and Texas City were all closed.

More than 2,500 emergency personnel are ready to respond to Beryl’s aftermath, including members of the Texas National Guard.

Beryl was expected to move east across the central US states, including Mississippi, later in the week.

The storm was expected to skip central and western Texas, areas currently experiencing moderate to severe drought.

At one point, Beryl became the earliest Category 5 hurricane on record.

In the Caribbean, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Mayreau and Union, and Grenada were particularly hard hit.

The storm was also one of the strongest to ever hit Jamaica.

Beryl brought heavy rain to the tourist attractions of Cancun and Tulum in southern Mexico.

While it is difficult to attribute specific storms to climate change because the causes are complex, the exceptionally high sea surface temperatures are seen as a major reason why Hurricane Beryl is so powerful.

It is the first hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic season, but the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has warned that the North Atlantic could see as many as seven major hurricanes this year, up from an average of three per season.