Beryl is also the first hurricane to hit Texas in a decade
Washington:
At least eight people died in the southern United States after Storm Beryl toppled trees and caused severe flooding, before being classified as a post-tropical cyclone on Tuesday.
In Texas, where Beryl entered as a Category 1 hurricane on Monday morning, at least seven people were killed, while another person died in neighboring Louisiana, authorities said.
Beryl’s death toll is now at least 18, after it hit the Caribbean last week – at one point as a Category 5 hurricane, the highest strength on record.
About 2.2 million homes in Texas were without power on Tuesday due to damaged power grids, even as temperatures were forecast to reach 41°C (106°F) with humidity taken into account.
Another 14,000 homes were also left without power in Louisiana.
Air-conditioned shelters for residents were set up as crews worked to restore service.
Beryl weakened on Tuesday and was heading northeast toward Canada with winds of 28 miles per hour, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said, warning that it could still generate flooding and tornadoes.
The sprawling city of Houston, home to 2.3 million people, was badly hit by strong winds and flooding.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez told X that a 53-year-old man and a 74-year-old woman died in separate incidents of trees falling on homes.
Later, Houston Mayor John Whitmire said at a news conference that one person died after lightning possibly sparked a fire, while a police department employee died in floodwaters on his way to work.
Meanwhile, in Louisiana, a death was announced by the Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office, also caused by a tree falling on a home.
‘Very rare’
Rose Michalec, 51, told AFP that Beryl tore down fences in her south Houston neighborhood.
“It’s a lot of damage… It’s more than we expected,” she said.
In downtown Houston, several areas were flooded, including the park where 76-year-old Floyd Robinson usually walks.
“I’m seeing more harmful water like this than I’ve ever seen before,” the Houston resident told AFP.
“It’s only the beginning of July and it’s very rare that we get a storm of this magnitude.”
Along the Texas coast, several oceanfront homes and buildings had their roofs ripped off by the wind.
Path through the Caribbean
Beryl first hit Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines as a Category 4 storm, before passing through the Cayman Islands and Jamaica, and at one point strengthening to Category 5.
It hit Mexico on Friday, destroying trees and lampposts and ripping off roof tiles.
Beryl left a death toll with three deaths in Grenada, two in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, three in Venezuela and two in Jamaica.
It is the first hurricane since NHC records began to reach the Category 4 level in June, and the first to reach the highest Category 5 level in July.
Beryl is also the first hurricane to hit Texas in a decade, according to expert Michael Lowry.
It is extremely rare for a storm this powerful to form so early in the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from early June to late November.
Scientists say climate change likely plays a role in the rapid intensification of storms like Beryl because there is more energy in a warmer ocean for them to feed on.
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