Hurricane Beryl, which made landfall as a Category 1 storm along the Texas coast on July 9, 2024, caused extensive damage and power outages across the region. According to various sources, at least eight people have been reported dead due to the storm's destruction. Thousands of traffic lights in Houston alone were knocked out by the hurricane, leaving drivers to navigate intersections as four-way stops.
President Biden granted a federal emergency disaster declaration for parts of Texas due to Beryl's devastation. Restoring power to millions of Texans is expected to take days or even weeks, posing a dangerous scenario for residents without air conditioning as triple-digit heat index temperatures hit the state.
Beryl brought flooding rains and winds that transformed roads into rushing rivers, ripped through power lines, and tossed trees. The storm made landfall in Matagorda, Texas, with sustained winds of 35 m.p.h., leaving behind a trail of destruction across the region.
The National Hurricane Center forecasted that Beryl would become a 'remnant low' by the following day, but it still posed a threat to flood areas of eastern Texas, western Louisiana, and Arkansas overnight.
City crews in Houston have been working tirelessly to reset the malfunctioning traffic lights. Drivers are advised to treat intersections without working traffic lights as four-way stops. The rules for such situations are simple: the first driver at an intersection goes first, and if two drivers arrive at the same time, the driver on the right gets priority.
Despite efforts to restore power and assess damage, many residents in Texas are left in a state of uncertainty as they navigate through their daily lives. The stress of storm cleanup is only adding to the confusion for some.
For more information on Hurricane Beryl and its impact on various regions, please refer to the following sources:
ABC13: https://abc13.com/post/hurricane-beryl-knocks-out-traffic-lights-thousands-houston intersections/'It's been terrible'
CNN: https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/9/weather/beryl-storm-texas-power-outages> heats/
