Winds, Flooding: Tropical Storm Beryl Hits Texas: News
After crossing the Caribbean, Tropical Storm Beryl hit Texas on Monday, bringing heavy rains that caused flooding, power outages and at least two deaths in the southern United States.
“A tree fell on a home and a man was trapped under the debris,” Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez wrote on Twitter. The man was 53 and lived in the Houston area.
The second victim was a 74-year-old woman who also died after a tree fell on her home, county police said in a Facebook post.
Beryl has already caused at least nine deaths, following the seven deaths recorded in the Caribbean and Venezuela.
In Texas, more than 2.7 million homes and businesses were without power as of early Monday afternoon, according to poweroutage.us, and residents were evacuated.
The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Hurricane Beryl, which was classified as a hurricane, was downgraded to a tropical storm on Monday with weak winds.
It even reached Category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, the highest, as it passed through the Antilles.
But the danger remains. The National Hurricane Center has specifically warned of the risk of marine flooding along the Texas coast.
“We have to take Beryl very seriously,” Houston Mayor John Whitmer warned earlier.
– Early phenomenon –
At the city's main airport, more than 1,100 flights were canceled, according to the FlightAware website, with the National Hurricane Center (NHC) warning of tornadoes.
The city of Galveston, southeast of Houston, ordered voluntary evacuations in certain areas. Videos posted on social media show lines of cars leaving the city.
Acting Gov. Dan Patrick urged Texans to remain alert, listen to local authorities and leave the danger zone if possible.
“This storm is going to be deadly to people directly in its path,” Patrick said at a news conference organized by state emergency services. “Trust me, you don’t want to be in a Category 1 hurricane.”
The White House said Sunday it was monitoring the situation.
According to the NHC, Beryl is expected to move toward eastern Texas on Monday, before continuing toward Mississippi and Ohio on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“Steady weakness is expected” in the coming hours, the forecast service said in its latest bulletin.
It's very rare for a hurricane to hit this early in the season. Beryl is the first hurricane to hit the United States in 10 years, according to expert Michael Lowry.
Scientists say climate change, by warming ocean waters, makes rapid intensification of storms more likely and increases the risk of hurricanes.
Published on July 8 at 9:45 pm, Agence France-Presse