Hurricane Beryl made landfall in southeast Texas on Monday, bringing torrential rain and howling wind to the region.
In the Houston area, over two million people and businesses were left without power. Beryl also unleashed torrential winds and heavy rains that prompted many high-water rescues.
While Beryl hit Texas as a Category 1 hurricane, it quickly weakened into a tropical storm within hours, making it much less deadly than the Category 5 hurricane that ripped through the Caribbean and parts of Mexico last week.
However, the rains and winds of the tropical storm still knocked down hundreds of trees, which were left swaying as the rain flooded the soil. Many vehicles were also stranded on flooded streets and roadways.
Over the past week, Beryl has gained 35mph in wind speed in less than 24 hours. three separate times. This has led to more than $6.4 million in destroyed crops, which will affect food shortages.
According to the National Hurricane Center, at least two people were killed as a result of trees falling on homes.
They expect the flash flooding and winds to continue as the tropical storm moves inland. However, there are no reports of widespread structural damage in the region.
Those who have been left without power after the storm are doing their best.
Eva Costancio, 67, who lives in the Rosenberg suburbs, said they have gone without power for several hours and are ‘struggling to have food’ and that ‘[they] haven’t really slept.’
According to officials, power crews have been sent into the affected areas to restore power as soon as possible, with homes with no air conditioning being a priority. While temperatures have gone down with Beryl, they are expected to go back up on Tuesday.
Galveston city officials said on social media that they expect the power to be restored within 72 hours to two weeks, depending on the area. As such, they are telling residents to prepare for a ‘multi-day power outage.’
Water Rescues Following the Storm
The torrential rain from the storm also caused many streets to flood. On Monday, one man was rescued from the roof of his pickup truck by emergency crews after his vehicle got stranded in the fast-flowing waters.
By Monday afternoon, at least 25 water rescues were carried out by emergency crews, many of which were for individuals stuck in their vehicles.
Javier Mejia was one of those people. Having experienced previous hurricanes, he had stocked up on food and water before the storm hit. However, he had forgotten to get fuel for his portable generator, which was why he was on the road that day.
Many neighborhoods and streets were also littered with fallen trees and other debris.
Not a One-Day Event
According to meteorologists, Beryl is forecast to bring more strong winds and rain into other states over the next few days.
They are currently monitoring for lingering rainbands, which could lead to strong rain, as well as ‘quick tornadoes.’ Unfortunately, they are hard to predict more than an hour in advance, which gives little time for people to prepare.
