Several hospitals have been forced to close and cancel patients appointments after Hurricane Beryl ripped through southeast Texas, causing widespread power outages and leaving at least eight people dead.
The super storm brought howling winds and torrential rain on Monday, flooding highways, closing oil ports, canceling more than 1,300 flights and knocking out power at more than 2.7 million houses and businesses.
Some hospitals in the Houston suffered damage during the storm and have been forced to close their doors Tuesday to non-emergency appointments. At least one is operating on generator power.
Beryl hit land as a Category 1 hurricane, strengthening from a tropical storm over the Gulf of Mexico. It later weakened into a tropical depression with maximum wind speeds of about 35mph.
The storm, which was expected to rapidly weaken as it moved inland, swept a destructive path through Jamaica, Grenada, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines last week. It killed at least 11 in Mexico and the Caribbean and before reaching Texas.
Mike Isbell (center) climbs a ladder to look at the remains of his home which was destroyed in Surfside Beach, Texas, on July 8, 2024, after Hurricane Beryl made landfall.
A resident walks past debris in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl in Surfside Beach, Texas on July 8, 2024
Beryl was blamed for killing several people in Texas on Monday and at least one person in Louisiana, officials said.
After a peak Monday of more than 2.7million customers around Houston without power, the numbers improved to more than 2.4million homes and businesses lacking electricity by Monday night, according to PowerOutage.us.
Several hospitals and health clinics throughout the Greater Houston area were forced to hunker down during the storm, impacting their services.
Most hospitals have remained open and are providing emergency medical assistance, The Houston Business Journal reported.
However, some have closed outpatient services, specialty facilities, health centers, and same-day clinics. Patients whose appointments have been canceled will be rescheduled.
St. Luke’s Health system’s Brazosport Hospital, located in Lake Jackson, was among the facilities damaged during the storm. It is currently operating on generator power and accepted new emergency patients.
Officials told the newspaper that no staff or patients were injured, however some people receiving treatment had to be relocated in the facility.
MD Anderson Cancer Center has closed its facility for all appointments except for emergency procedures at its Texas Medical Center campus.
Beryl is forecast to bring more strong rain and winds across the US over the coming days
A home is severely damaged after Hurricane Beryl swept through the area on July 8, 2024 in Freeport, Texas
Debris and flood waters from Hurricane Beryl cover the main roadway in Surfside Beach, Texas on July 8, 2024
State officials have yet to assess the economic damage as officials remained on a rescue footing while powerful winds continued to blow.
Restoring power would take several days, said Thomas Gleeson, chair of the Texas Public Utility Commission.
More than 2,500 first responders were deployed statewide, said Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management.
The lack of cooling to people’s homes, downed power lines and non-functioning traffic lights has led officials to ask residents to stay home if possible.
‘Houstonians need to know we’re working around the clock so you will be safe,’ Houston Mayor John Whitmire said Monday at a media briefing, urging residents to also know the dangers of high water, to stay hydrated and to check on their neighbors.
Power crews are working to restore service as quickly as possible, an urgent priority for homes also left without air conditioning in the middle of summer.
Temperatures in the 90s (above 32.2 Celsius) were expected Tuesday. The National Weather Service issued a heat advisory that said the area heat index could reach 105 F (40.5 C).
The state was opening cooling centers as well as food and water distribution centers, said Nim Kidd, chief of state emergency operations.
A man navigates flood waters following heavy rain from Hurricane Beryl in Houston, Texas on July 8, 2024
Jackie Jecmenek, right, talks with city worker Bobby Head as she stands in front of her neighbor’s home after Beryl passed, Monday, July 8, 2024, in Bay City, Texas
Ann McCauley examines the damage at Bethel Church after Hurricane Beryl moved through the area, Monday, July 8, 2024, in Van Vleck, Texas
People gather outside a home in the 17400 block of Rustic Canyon Trail where Maria Loredo, 74, died after a tree fell on her second story bedroom during Hurricane Beryl Monday, July 8, 2024, in Houston
People gather outside a home in the 17400 block of Rustic Canyon Trail where Maria Loredo, 74, died after a tree fell on her second story bedroom during Hurricane Beryl Monday, July 8, 2024, in Houston
A Texas resident captured drone footage of the destruction left by Hurricane Beryl on Monday
Streets were left flooded after Hurricane Beryl made landfall in Texas on Monday
An aerial view shows a destroyed home in Surfside Beach, Texas, on July 8, 2024, after Hurricane Beryl made landfall
A person is seen riding in a boat in flood waters after Hurricane Beryl struck Texas on Monday
A flood watch was in place Tuesday across multiple US states as tropical depression Beryl lashes the country’s south with heavy rain after killing at least four people in Texas.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Beryl could bring flash flooding ‘from the lower and mid Mississippi Valley to the Great Lakes’ through Wednesday as it sweeps across swathes of the United States.
A tornado is also possible Tuesday across parts of the south, the NHC said in its latest advisory.
Despite weakening to a tropical depression, Beryl still packed a punch on Monday, with the National Weather Service confirming that tornadoes had been spotted in northeastern Louisiana.
Bossier Sheriff Julian Whittington said in a Facebook post that a woman was killed in the Benton area when a tree fell on her home.
Dozens of tornado warnings were issued in Louisiana and Arkansas on Monday evening and they continued into the night.
A man navigates flood waters following heavy rain from Hurricane Beryl in Houston, Texas on July 8, 2024
A dog stands in floodwaters in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl in Houston on July 8, 2024
A drone view shows flood waters surrounding homes in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl in Surfside Beach, Texas on July 8, 2024
A contractor surveys a Dallas-based client’s home for structure damage after Hurricane Beryl moved through the area in Galveston, Texas on July 8, 2024
Restaurant employees collect displaced tables in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl in Surfside Beach, Texas on July 8, 2024
Texas state and local officials warned it could take several days to fully restore power after Beryl came ashore as a Category 1 hurricane and toppled 10 transmission lines and knocked down trees that took down power lines.
Beryl on Tuesday was far less powerful than the Category 5 behemoth that tore a deadly path of destruction through parts of Mexico and the Caribbean last weekend. But its winds and rains were still powerful enough to knock down hundreds of trees that had already been teetering in water-saturated earth, and strand dozens of cars on flooded roadways.
‘We’re not past any difficult conditions,’ said Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who is acting governor while Gov. Greg Abbott is out of the country.
Patrick said CenterPoint Energy was bringing thousands of additional workers to restore power, with top priorities including nursing homes and assisted living centers.
At least two people were killed when trees fell on homes in Texas, and a third person, a civilian employee of the Houston Police Department, was killed when he was trapped in flood waters under a highway overpass, Whitmire said.
The loss of power was an all-too familiar experience for Houston: Powerful storms had just ripped through the area in May, killing eight people, leaving nearly 1 million without power and flooding numerous streets.
Residents without power after Beryl were doing their best.
‘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 said she had already been without power for several hours 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.
Hurricane Beryl left a path of destruction as it ripped through Texas on Monday, July 8, 2024
Buffalo Bayou floods stranding vehicles near Downtown Houston after Beryl came ashore in Texas as a hurricane and dumped heavy rains downtown
Homes are surrounded in floodwater after Hurricane Beryl swept through the area on July 8, 2024 in Surfside, Texas
Andrew Parada, an employee at Residence Inn mops up the floor as water keeps leaking in during Tropical Storm Beryl wanes on Monday, July 8, 2024, Galveston, Texas
City of Galveston workers clear debris from Beryl from the West End of the seawall in Galveston, Texas, on Monday, July 8, 2024
A person prepares to close the door of their mobile home as it is surrounded by floodwater after Hurricane Beryl swept through the area on July 8, 2024 in Brazoria, Texas
Beryl’s rains pounded Houston and other areas of the coast on Monday, leaving streets flooded
Beryl’s rains pounded Houston and other areas of the coast on Monday, reclosing streets in neighborhoods that had already been washed out by previous storms.
Television stations on Monday broadcast the dramatic rescue of a man who had climbed to the roof of his pickup truck after it got trapped in fast-flowing waters.
Emergency crews used an extension ladder from a fire truck to drop him a life preserver and a tether before moving him to dry land.
Houston officials reported at least 25 water rescues by Monday afternoon, mostly for people with vehicles stuck in floodwaters.
Many streets and neighborhoods throughout Houston were littered with fallen branches and other debris.
The buzz of chainsaws filled the air Monday afternoon as residents chopped up knocked-down trees and branches that had blocked streets and sidewalks.
Patrick warned that flooding could last for days as rain continued to fall on already saturated ground.
‘This is not a one-day event,’ he said.
Beach goers try to keep their balance as wind gusts continue as Tropical Storm Beryl wanes on Monday, July 8, 2024, Galveston, Texas
A vehicle is stranded in high waters on a flooded highway in Houston, on Monday, July 8, 2024, after Beryl came ashore in Texas as a hurricane and dumped heavy rains along the coast
Hook Jefferson assesses damages after a tree fell on his neighbor’s home after Hurricane Beryl hit the Texas coast, Monday, July 8, 2024, in Bay City, Texas
William Ruiz uses a tow strap and his pick-up truck to remove a downed tree branch from the middle of the street in his neighborhood during a lull as the eye of hurrican Beryl passes through Monday, July 8, 2024, in Rosenberg, Texas
Resident Isabel Perez rakes up downed tree branches from the street outside of her home during a lull in the wind and rain as Tropical Storm Beryl passes Monday, July 8, 2024, in Rosenburg, Texas
President Joe Biden was getting regular updates on the storm after it made landfall and called the Houston mayor on Monday, the White House said.
He told the mayor his administration will make sure Texans have the resources they need to get through the storm and recovery.
Several companies with refineries or industrial plants in the area reported that the power disruptions necessitated the flaring of gases at the facilities.
Marathon Petroleum Corp. said it conducted a ‘safe combustion of excess gases’ at its Galveston Bay Refinery in Texas City, but did not provide information on the amount of gas flared or how long it would continue.
Formosa Plastics Corporation and Freeport LNG also reported flaring related to Beryl, according to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
Companies have 24 hours to share emissions data after the flaring stops, a representative from the TCEQ said in an email.
The earliest storm to develop into a Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic, Berylcaused at least 11 deaths as it passed through the Caribbean on its way to Texas.
Hook Jefferson assesses damages after a tree fell on his neighbor’s home after Hurricane Beryl hit the Texas coast, Monday, July 8, 2024, in Bay City, Texas
A man looks out a patio at The Oceanfront Loft Apartments in Galveston, Texas, after the patio was damaged from Tropical Storm Beryl on Monday, July 8, 2024
Louise Cohen, right, and Zilfa Ruhen help clear neighborhood drains after Beryl made landfall early morning Monday, July 8, 2024, in Houston
Anthony Le, left, and his father Phuong Le help pull a car stuck in the mud after Beryl made landfall early morning Monday, July 8, 2024, in Houston
An upended tree rests on Bethel Church after Hurricane Beryl moved through the area, Monday, July 8, 2024, in Van Vleck, Texas
In Jamaica, officials said Monday that island residents will have to contend with food shortages after Beryl destroyed over $6.4 million in crops and supporting infrastructure.
Beryl was forecast to bring more strong rain and winds into additional states over the coming days. One of those, Missouri was already dealing with a wet summer.
Heavy rains unrelated to the storm prompted several water rescues around the city of Columbia, where rivers and creeks were already high ahead of Beryl’s expected arrival on Tuesday.