Hurricane Beryl Strikes Texas Coast with Floods, Winds

Hurricane Beryl made its devastating landfall on Monday in the southern US state of Texas, causing at least two fatalities and leaving millions without power due to severe winds and widespread flooding. Coastal areas continue to remain under evacuation orders. 
 
The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported that Beryl struck the town of Matagorda as a Category 1 hurricane but has since been downgraded to a tropical storm after several hours post-impact. 
 
Houston, home to approximately 2.3 million residents and located farther inland, experienced heavy rain and wind as the NHC issued warnings about "life-threatening storm surges, damaging wind gusts, and flooding rainfall" across southeastern Texas. Houston Mayor John Whitmire cautioned against complacency, stating, "We have to take Beryl very seriously." 
 
Poweroutage.us tracker reports revealed that around 2.6 million households were left without electricity by midday Monday. 
 
Two people lost their lives in the Houston area due to falling trees: a man aged 53 trapped under debris when a tree fell onto his house and a woman aged 74 who was hit by another falling tree on her residence, according to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez. 
 
Over 500 flights were cancelled at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, according to the to the FlightAware tracking service, while potential tornadoes remained an ongoing concern for the National Weather Service. 
 
Rainfall up to approximately fifteen inches (38 centimeters) is anticipated in some parts of Texas, per NHC predictions, warning that potential flash floods in certain areas could occur as well. 
 
Several coastal regions of Texas had already received hurricane and storm warnings over the past weekend. 
 
Tourists from Corpus Christi located within Nueces County were requested by authorities there to evacuate while neighboring Refugio County—still dealing with recovery efforts from Hurricane Harvey's destruction back in 2017—declared mandatory evacuation order enforcement measures are being implemented immediately. 
 
Residents living southeast of Houston within Galveston city limits adhered to voluntary evacuation orders, with social media videos capturing long lines of cars exiting the city. 
 
Acting Governor Dan Patrick urged Texans to stay vigilant, heed local official warnings, and evacuate danger zones when possible. "It will be a deadly storm for people who are directly on that path," he warned at a state emergency management news conference. 
 
Beryl has already claimed over twelve lives after ravaging through the Caribbean and Venezuela, where wind speeds reached maximum Category 5 hurricane strength levels. 
 
Mexico was hit by Beryl as a Category 2 hurricane on Friday, causing widespread damage but no reported injuries or fatalities. Prior to this, it caused significant damage in the Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Venezuela. 
 
According to NHC records, Beryl is the first recorded hurricane to reach Category 4 in June and hit Category 5 in July. Michael Lowry, an expert, stated that Beryl is also the earliest hurricane to make landfall in Texas within the last ten years. 
 
The early formation of such powerful storms during the Atlantic hurricane season, running from early June until late November, is considered extremely rare. Scientists believe climate change contributes to the rapid intensification of storms like Beryl due to increased energy from warmer ocean waters. 
 
US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports indicate North Atlantic waters temperature ranges between two and five degrees Fahrenheit (one and three degrees Celsius) above normal.