Beryl Killed at Least 8 in Texas, Louisiana

Power was starting to come back on in Texas as storm moved east
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jul 8, 2024 2:17 PM CDT
Updated Jul 9, 2024 1:30 AM CDT
Millions Without Power After Storm in Texas
A hotel guest navigates the halls after power was lost due to Hurricane Beryl, Monday, July 8, 2024, in Bay City, Texas.   (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
UPDATE Jul 9, 2024 1:30 AM CDT

There's no consensus yet on the death toll from Hurricane Beryl (later Tropical Storm Beryl) in Texas, but Fox 26 Houston reports seven were killed in the Houston area. Three were killed by falling trees, three drowned (including a public servant who died after becoming trapped in his vehicle in floodwaters), and one was killed in a fire. One person was also killed in Louisiana, the AP reports. By Monday night, power was starting to come back on in Texas and the storm was moving east, spawning suspected tornadoes. More strong winds and rain were expected in the coming days in states including Missouri.

Jul 8, 2024 2:17 PM CDT

Tropical Storm Beryl has knocked out power to more than 2 million homes and businesses in Texas. The problem is that crews can't get out to restore it until the wind dies down, said Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who is acting governor while Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is out of the country. Residents without power were doing their best, per the AP. "We haven't really slept," said Eva Costancio as she gazed at a large tree that had fallen across electric lines in her neighborhood in the Houston suburb of Rosenberg. Costancio, 67, said she had been without power for about four hours Monday and worried that food in her refrigerator would be spoiled. "We are struggling to have food, and losing that food would be difficult," she said.

Meanwhile, Houston was under a flash-flood warning for most of the morning as heavy rain continued to soak the city. Flood warnings also were in effect across a wide stretch of the Texas coast, where a powerful storm surge pushed water ashore, and further inland as heavy rain continued to fall. Beryl made landfall in Texas as a Category 1 hurricane and has since been downgraded, per the Washington Post. At least two people in the state have been killed by the storm. The latest estimate at poweroutage.us is that 2.6 million were out of power in Texas.

(More Hurricane Beryl stories.)

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