Beryl knocks out power to nearly 3 million people in Texas

HOUSTON (AP) — Hurricane Beryl slammed into Texas early Monday, knocking out power to nearly 3 million homes and businesses, triggering heavy rains and killing at least three people, the National Hurricane Center said. It moved eastward and subsequently weakened into a tropical depression. The fast-moving storm threatens to create a rough road for several additional states in the coming days.

Texas and local officials warned that Beryl made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane and knocked out 10 power lines and toppled trees, knocking out power lines and possibly taking days to restore power.

Beryl later weakened into a tropical storm and then a tropical depression, far less powerful than the devastating Category 5 beast it was. parts of mexico and Caribbean Sea last weekend. But the fast-moving storm's winds and rain were still powerful enough to knock down hundreds of trees already crumbling on water-saturated land and leave dozens of cars stranded on flooded roads.

Tornadoes are possible as the storm moves inland, and the National Weather Service confirmed on social media that a tornado had been spotted in northeastern Louisiana. A Benton-area woman was killed when a tree fell on her home, Bossier Police Chief Julian Whittington said in a Facebook post.

“We haven’t overcome any difficult circumstances,” said Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who served as acting governor while Gov. Greg Abbott was away from the country, warning that “restoring power will It will take a few days.”

Houston was hit hard, with more than 2 million homes and businesses in and around the nation's fourth-largest city without power, according to a CenterPoint Energy report. Patrick said the company is sending thousands of additional workers to restore power, with the top priority being places like nursing homes and assisted living centers.

At least two people died after falling trees hit homes, and the National Hurricane Center said damaging winds and flash flooding would continue as Beryl pushed inland. A third person, a civilian employee of the Houston Police Department, died after being trapped in floodwaters under a highway overpass, Houston Mayor John Whitmire said. However, there were no immediate reports of extensive structural damage.

Power outages are an all-too-familiar experience for Houston: In May, powerful storms just swept through the region, killing eight people, knocking out power to nearly 1 million people, and flooding many streets.

Residents who lost power after Beryl are doing the best they can.

“We haven't really slept yet,” said Eva Costancio, looking at a tree that had fallen on power lines near her home in the Houston suburb of Rosenberg. Costasio, 67, said she had been without power for several hours and was worried the food in her refrigerator would spoil.

“We are struggling to get food and losing it will be difficult,” she said.

Houston and Harris County officials said power crews would be dispatched to the area to restore power as quickly as possible, a top priority for homes without air conditioning in the middle of summer. The storm caused temperatures to drop slightly, with temperatures expected to climb back into the 90s as early as Tuesday. The National Weather Service issued a heat warning saying the heat index in the area could reach 105 degrees Fahrenheit (41 degrees Celsius).

Nim Kidd, the state's emergency operations chief, said the state will prepare to open cooling centers and food and water distribution centers.

Rains from Berrill battered Houston and other parts of the Coast on Monday, causing streets to be reopened in communities that had already been closed. Destroyed by the previous storm. Television stations broadcast Monday the dramatic rescue of a man who climbed on top of his pickup truck after it got stuck in rapids. First responders used a telescopic ladder from a fire truck to lower a life preserver and rope onto him before moving him to land.

Houston officials reported at least 25 water rescues as of Monday afternoon, most of which involved people whose vehicles were trapped in floodwaters.

“First responders are risking their lives. That's what they're trained to do. It's working,” said Houston Mayor John Whitmire.

Javier Mejia was one of about 20 people who gathered near the pickup truck rescue scene and took photos of other submerged vehicles on the flooded highway.

“If you don't have a way out, you're stuck in this situation,” Mejia said.

Mejia, who had weathered previous storms in Houston, stocked up on food and water before Beryl hit but forgot to refuel his portable generator. He planned to spend the day looking for some.

“I don’t want it to go bad,” he said of the food, adding that if he couldn’t find gas, “we could just light a fire and grill it.”

Many streets and neighborhoods in Houston were littered with fallen tree limbs and other debris. The buzz of chainsaws filled the air Monday afternoon as residents began cutting down downed trees and large branches blocking streets and sidewalks.

Patrick warned that flooding could continue for days as rain continues to fall on already saturated ground.

“This didn't happen in a day,” he said.

The White House said President Joe Biden received regular updates on the storm as it made landfall. The U.S. Coast Guard and the Federal Emergency Management Agency have prepared search and rescue teams, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency has collected bottled water, food, tarps and generators in case of emergency.

Several companies with refineries or plants in the area reported power outages that necessitated burning natural gas at the facilities.

Marathon Petroleum said it conducted “safe flaring of excess gas” at its Galveston Bay refinery in Texas City, but did not provide information on the amount of natural gas burned or the duration of the flaring. Formosa Plastics Corp. and Freeport LNG also reported Beryl-related flaring incidents, according to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

A TCEQ representative said in an email that the company has 24 hours to share emissions data after flaring stops.

First developed into a storm Category 5 hurricane In the Atlantic, beryl killed at least 11 people as it traveled through the Caribbean to Texas. Jamaican officials said Monday that island residents must Coping with food shortages Beryl destroyed more than $6.4 million worth of crops and supporting infrastructure.

Heavy rain is expected across Louisiana throughout the day Monday, and “the risk will be heavy rain and the potential for flash flooding,” National Weather Service meteorologist Donald Jones said during a Facebook Live briefing Monday morning.

The weather service in Shreveport issued a tornado warning for northwest Louisiana. The agency confirmed on social media that multiple tornadoes had been spotted in that corner of the state. Information on whether these weather events caused significant damage was not immediately available.

Beryl is expected to bring more heavy rainfall and strong winds to more states in the coming days. For one, Missouri is already facing a wet summer. Heavy rain not related to the storm prompted multiple water rescues around Columbia, where water levels were already high in local rivers and creeks ahead of Beryl's expected arrival on Tuesday.

___

Associated Press writers Jim Vertuno in Austin, Texas; Corey Williams in Detroit; Julie Walker in New York; Melina Walling in Chicago; Jeff Martin in Atlanta (Jeff Martin) contributed to this report.