Hurricane Beryl Makes Landfall in Texas, Causing Widespread Damage and Power Outages

URL: https://xyz.com/hurricane-beryl-texas-storm-damage-power-outages/

"If people still don't have power, there could really be some issues with heat exhaustion, with heat-related illnesses..." — Hal Needham, extreme weather scientist

Early Monday, Hurricane Beryl made landfall in Texas as a Category 1 storm, bringing severe weather, including storm surges, heavy rain, and powerful wind gusts of up to 84 mph. The hurricane caused widespread damage, leaving over 2 million people without power and resulting in at least two deaths.

URLs:

• National Hurricane Center: https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh/MIATCPAT2+shtml/081450.shtml
• Sheriff Ed Gonzalez: https://x.com/SheriffEd_HCSO/status/1810297122576576783
• Sheriff Ed Gonzalez: https://x.com/SheriffEd_HCSO/status/1810329124944130075
• Hurricane Hal: https://www.facebook.com/HurricaneHal/

Beryl made landfall near Matagorda, between Corpus Christi and Galveston, with sustained winds of over 80 mph. The storm weakened as it moved inland but still caused extensive damage, including uprooted trees and downed power poles. The hurricane's strength caught many off guard, with weather scientist Hal Needham commenting that the storm was "a lot stronger than a lot of people expected."

In Harris County, two people were killed when trees fell on their homes. Last week, Beryl caused devastation in the Caribbean, leaving at least 11 dead and infrastructure destroyed. The storm then made landfall in Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula on Friday.

Needham raised concerns about the continuing power outages, stating that residents could be at risk of heat exhaustion and heat-related illnesses due to the high temperatures and humidity.

Galveston resident Jacob Jonathan, 21, described the hurricane as "stressful," with nearly a foot of flooding on his street and debris littering the neighborhood. Donna Radin, a 58-year-old travel agent from Deer Park, was awoken by the intense howling wind and described the hurricane as the "most intense Cat 1" she had ever experienced.

Beryl broke records as the earliest Category 5 hurricane and the earliest Category 4 hurricane on record. Federal forecasters predict a busy hurricane season, with up to 25 named storms possible.