Texas cleans up after deadly Beryl slams state before tracking north as post-tropical cyclone
Beryl was downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone after it made landfall in Texas on Monday morning as a hurricane, with its path showing it to have impacts across the central US throughout the week
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Eight people have died, and millions more in Texas could be left without power for days while Beryl moves northeast.
After making landfall in the United States as a Category 1 hurricane on the coast of Matagorda on Monday morning, Beryl was downgraded to Tropical Storm then to a Depression and now as a post-tropical cyclone as it traversed inland across eastern Texas, bringing heavy rainfall, strong winds and life-threatening conditions.
Around eight people are believed to be dead as a result of the storm, including seven in Texas and one in Louisiana.
This includes a civilian employee of the Houston Police Department, who was killed when he was trapped in flood waters under a highway overpass, Houston Mayor John Whitmire said.
More than 2.2 million customers were without power around Houston, the nation’s fourth-largest city, after Beryl blew through, according to CenterPoint Energy.
Acting Texas Governor Dan Patrick said the electric company was bringing in additional workers to help restore power more quickly.
Beryl has already left a trail of destruction as a Category 5 hurricane through Mexico and the Caribbean.
Parts of the Midwest could see tornadoes, while the northeastern US could be hit with flash floods.
In pictures: Destruction caused by Storm Beryl
Windows ripped off hotel walls in Galveston, Texas
Dramatic footage from Galveston, Texas, showed windows being ripped off walls at a local hotel.
Video was captured by social media user @YellowShagVinyl, who posted the clip on X.
Texas officials say restoring electricity will take days
Texas officials say restoring electricity will take days after Beryl came ashore Monday as a Category 1 hurricane and knocked out power to nearly three million homes and businesses.
Acting Texas Governor Dan Patrick, who is acting governor while Greg Abbott is out of the country, said CenterPoint Energy was bringing in thousands of additional workers to help get the lights turned back on quicker.
He said the storm toppled 10 transmission lines and that many of the outages were caused by fallen trees.
Beryl sped across the Texas coast on Monday, unleashing heavy rains that prompted dozens of high-water rescues. The fast-moving tempest threatened to carve a harsh path over several more states in coming days.
Tourists left stranded at Cancun airport after Hurricane Beryl makes landfall on Mexican coast
Watch as tourists remained stranded at Cancun airport on Saturday (6 July) after Hurricane Beryl – which has since been downgraded to a Tropical Storm – made landfall on the Mexican coast.
Watch: Tourists stranded at Cancun airport after Hurricane Beryl makes landfall
Watch as tourists remained stranded at Cancun airport on Saturday (6 July) after Hurriance Beryl made landfall on the Mexican coast.
Beryl continues to produce flooding rains and the risk of tornadoes
ICYMI Watch: Texas residents prepare for Storm Beryl
Beryl downgraded into a Tropical Storm
Beryl has weakened ever so slightly, meaning it is no longer considered a hurricane, and is now a tropical storm.
The National Hurricane Center has reported that Beryl is packing maximum sustained wind speeds of 70mph (110km/h) as it approaches Houston, currently 20 miles (30km) west-northwest of the city.
To be considered a hurricane, Beryl would to need to sustain at least 74mph (119km/h) to be a Category 1 hurricane, according to the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale.
Despite not being a hurricane anymore, the NHC and local officials still warn that the weather conditions are dangerous, with life-threatening storm surge, damaging wind gusts and considerable flash flooding that are continuing across portions of southeast Texas.
Watch: How Beryl intensified and churned across Caribbean, Mexico and the US in seven days
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