Tropical Storm Beryl brought devastating winds and heavy rain to southeast Texas on July 8, 2024, leaving at least seven people dead and over 3 million residents without power. The storm made landfall near Matagorda as a Category 1 hurricane with sustained winds of over 80 mph. In Houston alone, more than two million CenterPoint Energy customers were left in the dark due to extensive damage caused by fallen trees and downed power lines.
The deadly storm flooded highways, closed oil ports, canceled over 1,300 flights and knocked out power to millions of homes and businesses across Texas. The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned that conditions could spawn tornadoes in Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas.
At least four people were killed during the storm: a 53-year-old man, a city of Houston employee, a 74-year-old woman and another unidentified person. The victims were either drowned or killed by falling trees.
Strong gusts and torrential rain lashed cities and towns such as Galveston, Sargent, Lake Jackson and Freeport. Many fallen trees blocked roads in Houston as the worst of the storm passed.
Crews rescued a man from a flooded stretch of freeway using a life jacket and ladder fire truck. Flood waters exceeded 10 inches across most of Houston, Mayor John Whitmire said.
CenterPoint Energy hoped to restore power to 1 million customers by the end of the day Wednesday but warned that customers in the hardest-hit areas could experience extended outages.
The storm weakened from a hurricane after pounding coastal Texas towns with dangerous storm surges and heavy rain before moving across Houston. The NHC said conditions could spawn tornadoes in Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas.
Despite the extensive damage caused by Tropical Storm Beryl, it is important to note that sources may have varying perspectives on the events. It is crucial to consider multiple sources and be skeptical of any biased reporting.
