Millions without power as storm moves from Houston to East Texas

 

More than 2.7 million electricity customers without power

Hurricane Beryl has knocked out power for more than 2.7 million Texas customers, as of 12:59 p.m. Monday, based on estimates from PowerOutage.us and CenterPoint Energy.

Outages are most extensive in the Houston area and coastal counties including Matagorda, where Beryl landed as a Category 1 hurricane at approximately 4 a.m. Monday morning. Significant outages are also in Galveston County, Calhoun County and Jackson County. As the morning progressed, outages extended further inland and into Deep East Texas to areas including Polk, San Jacinto, Montgomery, Grimes and Washington Counties.

Most of the outages are among customers who receive power from CenterPointEnergy. CenterPoint is the main electricity provider for the vast majority of residents in Harris and Fort Bend counties and also provides electricity to dozens of East Texas communities. The provider is not currently providing county-specific numbers on outages.

At 1:10 p.m., PowerOutage.us reported that more than 2.2 million of CenterPoint's 2.6 million Texas customers lacked electricity.

“As soon as safe to do so, you’ll see our crews headed out to start assessing damage and developing restoration plans,” CenterPoint said on social media platform X. The company warned people to stay away from downed wires and to not attempt to remove tree limbs or objects from power lines. Customers are instead advised to report outages and hazardous conditions to their power company or local authorities.

Tornadoes pop up in East Texas after Beryl downgraded to a Tropical Storm

After downing trees and power lines across the Greater Houston area, Hurricane Beryl has been downgraded to a Tropical Storm, meaning wind speeds have lowered below 75 miles per hour.

Maximum sustained winds have decreased to about 60 miles per hour, a 1 p.m. advisory from the National Hurricane Center. Beryl is headed northeastward at about 14 miles per hour and is expected to increase in speed as it continues to move through East Texas, where some local officials asked residents to shelter in place.

The National Weather Service out of Shreveport is tracking three confirmed tornadoes on radar, two in Texas and the third in Louisiana. The first is south of Joaquin, which is north of Lufkin and near the Louisiana border, the second is north of Timpson, which is also near the border.

Forecasters urged Texans to use caution amid downed power lines and warned that improper generator use can cause carbon monoxide poisoning.

On the Texas coastline, a storm surge warning is still in effect north of San Luis Pass to Sabine Pass, an area that includes Galveston Bay. The tropical storm warning was discontinued from Port O’Conner to San Luis Pass.

The Coastal Bend, including areas like Corpus Christi, was spared from the brunt of the storm.

Two people die in separate incidents after Beryl knocks trees onto residences, authorities say

Two people have died and another was injured after Hurricane Beryl downed trees in separate Houston neighborhoods near George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Harris County.

The Atascocita Fire Department responded to a call about a fallen tree at approximately 6:30 a.m., according to Jerry Dilliard, the department’s spokesperson. Two people were at the residence, and one was deceased at the scene. The second person was transported to the hospital and their condition is currently unclear.

“One person was trapped under a ceiling in a part of the house that the tree had fallen on,” Dilliard said.

In an email, Harris County Sheriff’s Office senior deputy Thomas Gilliland confirmed the death, noting that a tree fell on a house and a man was trapped under debris.

“That tragic incident is being worked by our personnel,” Gilliland wrote.

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzales said on X that the deceased person is a 53-year-old man who was “sitting in a house with family, riding out the storm.”

Gonzales also reported hours later that a tree fell on a residence in the neighborhood of Rustic Canyon Trail in Houston, causing to the death of a 74-year-old woman. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo described the woman as a grandmother who died after a tree fell on her bedroom in the Spring neighborhood.