HOUSTON, WE HAD ANOTHER PROBLEM! BERYL DEVASTATES HOUSTON AND REGION; A TOTAL OF 4 DEAD AND 3 MILLION WITHOUT ELECTRICITY; FLOODING AND DAMAGE ACROSS THE REGION AGAIN
DANIEL WHYTE III, PRESIDENT OF GOSPEL LIGHT SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL, SAYS HOUSTON HAS BEEN UNDER THE WRATH OF GOD SINCE JOEL OSTEEN CHOSE TO FOOLISHLY PARTICIPATE IN THE INAUGURATION OF AND BLESS THE FIRST LESBIAN MAYOR, WHO IS MARRIED TO A WOMAN. WHYTE FURTHER TELLS JOEL OSTEEN TO SHOW FRUITS OF REPENTANCE BY ANNOUNCING HE WILL CAP HIS ANNUAL SALARY FROM THE CHURCH AT $250,000.00 AND HE WILL DONATE HIS $50 TO $100 MILLION TO THE POOR PEOPLE ACROSS HOUSTON AND THE REGION WHO HE REFUSED TO LET INTO HIS CHURCH DURING THE LAST DEVASTATING HURRICANE.
At least four people have died in the Houston region as a result of Hurricane Beryl, according to city and county officials.
Investigators determined a house fire that killed a man early Monday was likely caused by lightning from the storm, and a civilian employee of the Houston Police Department was found dead in a submerged car in the floodwaters of Houston Avenue near City Hall.
Acting HPD Chief Larry Satterwhite later identified the man in a post on X as Russell Richardson, a 54-year-old information security officer who was caught in rising flood waters on Houston Avenue.
Mayor John Whitmire, who hailed the man as a “hero,” said Richardson was on his way to work Monday morning after exiting Interstate 45.
Earlier, county officials confirmed two deaths from fallen trees: a 53-year-old man in Humble and a 74-year-old grandmother in Spring.
A man died after a tree fell on a home in Kings River Village in Humble, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez confirmed on X.
Gonzalez said the man, 53, was sitting in his home with his family, waiting out the storm, when an oak tree fell on their roof and a structure fell on the man.
Local officials have urged residents to remain home on Monday as the floodwaters begin to recede and crews start to assess the damage. An array of hazards continues to threaten public safety, including falling trees, high water, hanging power lines, broken traffic signals, and — of course —widespread power outages.
Laurie Christensen, the Harris County fire marshal, urged residents with generators to ensure they are not running indoors or in garages. The devices should be kept at least 15 to 20 feet away from a home, and she called carbon monoxide poisoning a “silent killer” after storms.
“We can’t even get there to save you because you can’t wake up to tell us you need us,” Christensen said.
Gonzalez confirmed another death around 10 a.m. after a tree fell on 74-year-old Maria Loredo in the 17400 block of Rustic Canyon Trail. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said Loredo, a grandmother, was in her bedroom at the time.
The hurricane, which was downgraded to a tropical storm late Monday morning as it moved inland, has claimed at least 12 lives in the Caribbean, according to Caribbean National Weekly, with three fatalities confirmed in Grenada and Carriacou, three in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and three in northern Venezuela.
Beryl began as a Category 5 hurricane and was downgraded to a Category 4 before slamming into Jamaica last week. It made landfall near Matagorda, Texas around 4 a.m. on Monday as a Category 1 hurricane.
Correction (July 8, 5:55 p.m.): An earlier version of the story misspelled the name of Maria Loredo.
This story is developing and will be updated when new information is available.
Live Beryl updates: CenterPoint Energy restores power to 285K customers, 1.9 million outages remain
Officials urged Houstonians to continue to say off the roads after Tropical Storm Beryl, after it wreaked havoc on the area as a Category 1 hurricane Monday.
The storm killed four people as of Monday morning, Harris County authorities reported.
Beryl, which brought damaging winds and floods, knocked out power for more than 2.1 million CenterPoint customers.
President Joe Biden on Monday extended his condolences in a phone call with Houston Mayor John Whitmire for the loss of life as a result of Hurricane Beryl.
Biden assured the mayor that the federal government is doing everything in its power to support Texans impacted by Beryl, said Andres Correa, associate director of regional media for the White House.
“The U.S. Coast Guard and FEMA are on the ground and stand ready to support local response efforts,” Correa said in an email. “They will remain with the people of Texas every step of the way.”
FEMA had pre-positioned staff along Beryl’s predicted path to assist in relief efforts, a spokesperson said in a news release. The agency also stockpiled 500,000 meals, 800,000 gallons of water and 60 generators that are available on request from state officials.
CenterPoint Energy mobilized crews Monday afternoon after Hurricane Beryl passed and by 8 p.m. Monday had restored power to nearly 285,000 customers, representatives said in an email.
CenterPoint estimates 1 million impacted customers will have power restored by the end of the day Wednesday, July 10.
“While we tracked the projected path, intensity and timing for Hurricane Beryl closely for many days, this storm proved the unpredictability of hurricanes as it delivered a powerful blow across our service territory and impacted a lot of lives,” said Lynnae Wilson, Senior Vice President, CenterPoint Energy.
“We know we have important work ahead for our customers who depend on us, especially during the hot summer months.”
The National Weather Service issued a heat advisory for southeast Texas on Tuesday with the heat index expected to rise to 105 degrees. “While this would normally be below criteria, the widespread loss of power and A/C will make for dangerous conditions,” forecasters said on X.
CenterPoint’s outage tracker reported nearly 1.9 million customers affected on Monday night.
Rising waters as a result of Hurricane Beryl have flooded several animal enclosures at the Houston Zoo, according to KPRC.
The station shared footage from two cameras it maintains within the zoo showing large amounts of water in both the giraffe and elephant enclosures.
According to KPRC, an employee of the zoo said that the animals are safe but the zoo will remain closed through Tuesday as the team continues to assess and repair the damage from Beryl.
– John Lomax
Extensive damage from wind and water has been reported in residences across Galveston. So far, city officials said they are not aware of any fatalities as a result of Hurricane Beryl.
City spokesperson Marissa Barnett said Beryl brought around 4 inches of rainfall and 78 mile-per-hour winds to the island. Power lines have been downed in areas across the city, and a large portion of residents are still without electricity. Barnett said residents should be prepared to go without power for several days.
“The estimated timeline is anywhere from 72 hours to two weeks in parts of the island,” Barnett said in a news release. “This is the only update we have currently as it relates to power outages. We will continue to update as we have more information.”
Public works crews are currently working to clear debris on the island, and Barnett said residents should take extra caution driving until streetlights are restored. Most public services should resume tomorrow, Barnett said.
– John Lomax
Officials have issued a boil water notice for certain residents in the cities of Spring and Cypress after Hurricane Beryl damaged a purification facility in the area.
Texas Water Utilities Director Robert Hicks said in a statement that a treatment facility in the area lost pressure after Beryl damaged a generator.
The notice is currently in effect for 41 connections throughout the Cypress Hill community and 87 connected to the Spring Cypress water system.
No bacteriological samples have been taken at time of writing, but Hicks said officials would test the water as soon as power is restored.
– John Lomax
The Houston SPCA rescued around 300 egrets after Hurricane Beryl ripped through a colony of the birds near Kiowa River Lane, according to a Monday press release.
The storm blew many of the birds from their nests, leaving hundreds orphaned and many more dead. The surviving egrets will be triaged at the SPCA.
The SPCA said summer is when egrets generally breed. Their nests are a common sight across Houston.
— John Lomax
Hurricane Beryl left hazards from downed trees to dead traffic lights on Texas roadways. Enter your address in this interactive map to see what hazards are near you. When available, we’ve included specific descriptions of the complaint.
— Caroline Ghisolfi
The man who died due to Hurricane Beryl has been identified, according to a press release from the Houston Police Department.
Russell Richardson, a 54-year-old information security officer with the Houston Police Department, died after getting caught in rising flood waters on Houston Avenue. The department said he was on his way to work at the time.
— John Lomax
People interested in helping others after Hurricane Beryl can volunteer or donate money to organizations that assist those in need.
— Sonia Garcia
Friendswood, a city to the southeast of downtown Houston with a population of about 40,000, is imposing a curfew from 9:00 p.m. Monday until 6:30 a.m. Tuesday.
— Rebekah F. Ward
Sherman Weaver and three family members circled around a shed, trying to solve a problem: How do you start two generators that hadn’t been used in who-knows-how-many years?
They had already burned through a can of starting fluid without any luck.
Weaver’s son, Scout, rents a 110-year-old farmhouse on Weaver’s property. It did not have power as of Monday afternoon.
Whether their power will come back on Monday — or if they can finally get one of the generators going — remains to be seen. But Weaver’s sister told Scout and his family that she and her husband have a room ready in their house up the street if they want to spend the night.
— Peter Warren
Houston City Council public comment on Tuesday will be canceled, Mayor John Whitmire’s spokesperson, Mary Benton, said Monday.
Public comments will instead be heard Wednesday at 9 a.m. at Houston City Hall. The regularly scheduled council meeting will follow.
— Abby Church
Local officials are asking residents to stay home Monday night as floodwaters from Hurricane Beryl begin to recede and crews start surveying the region’s damage.
“Don’t let the clear skies fool you,” Mayor John Whitmire said at a 5 p.m. news conference. “We still have dangerous circumstances.”
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo offered a similar message: “We’re not out of the woods yet… Let’s just wait until tomorrow. Doing a damage assessment on your own property is one thing, but driving around unnecessarily — we really ask that you avoid it.”
— Dylan McGuinness
After Beryl knocked the power out of his Alvin trailer, Jack Brown sat on his front porch Monday afternoon in his white rocking chair, petting his dog, King.
“He didn’t care much for the storm either,” Brown said of the dog.
His lawn — which had been swamped earlier in the day but was draining into a ditch — was covered in fallen tree branches. One branch had knocked the bumper off his black Jeep.
It’s a mess, he said, but one that will be fairly easy to clean.
“I’ll put the movie ‘Twister’ on,” he said, “and think about how good I got it.”
— Peter Warren
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who is leading the state while Gov. Greg Abbott is out of the country, said it will be a “multiple-day process to get power restored” to the about 2.7 million customers across Texas experiencing outages.
Patrick said he spoke with CenterPoint officials, who told him they are sending in 11,500 people to help with restoration efforts. The workers are coming both from out of state and from unaffected counties in Texas, Patrick said during a late Monday afternoon storm briefing in Austin.
Customers hoping to reach CenterPoint representatives in the meantime should call 713-207-2222, he said.
State officials urged Texans not to approach downed power lines and to be careful when using candles and other sources of light and heat. Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief W. Nim Kidd warned anyone using generators to keep them outside — away from the house — to reduce the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.
— Cayla Harris
Jose and Haley Loredo were downstairs in their Rustic Canyon Trail home on Monday morning when they heard a tree crash into their house.
They tore up the stairs and found their 2-year-old daughter safe in their room. But Jose’s mother Maria — whose bedroom was next door — didn’t answer their screams. The door was jammed. When they finally pried it open, they saw the entire room was gone.
Maria Loredo, 74, was killed when a tree not only crashed into her bedroom but took a chunk of the house out with it.
Loredo’s daughter-in-law, Haley Loredo, described her mother-in-law as a sweet, kind and devoted grandmother who made incredible flautas with heavy whipping cream and flour.
The Loredos and their two children escaped physically unharmed. Now, they’re trying to figure out where to live for the time being. But the family isn’t worried about their house or personal items they may have lost.
“That’s just material stuff,” Haley Loredo said. “We’re just really sad about my mother-in-law.”
— Andrea Ball and Melissa Phillip
The Houston region’s death toll from Hurricane Beryl has risen to four, with city officials confirming two more deaths related to the storm.
Investigators determined a house fire that killed a man early Monday likely was caused by lightning from the storm. A civilian employee of the Houston Police Department was found dead in a submerged car in the floodwaters of Houston Avenue, near City Hall.
Mayor John Whitmire, who hailed the employee as a “hero,” said he got stuck in the floodwaters on his way to work Monday morning after exiting Interstate 45.
Earlier, county officials confirmed two deaths from fallen trees: a 53-year-old man in Humble and a 74-year-old grandmother in Spring.
Officials have not confirmed the name of any of the people who died.
— Dylan McGuinness
High water, tree damage and other debris are expected to make roadways unsafe for the next several days, according to officials with TxDOT’s Houston district.
While damage looks similar to the aftermath of Hurricane Ike in 2008, said TxDOT Houston District spokesman Danny Perez, the cleanup isn’t expected to be as extensive.
Perez advises anyone who has to be on the roads for essential work to check for routes that are cleared by using apps.
“What we see is that some people treat these conditions as normal situations,” he said. “For those that drive aggressively, or speed and don’t take safety into consideration already, this is not the time for that.”
— Yvette Orozco
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who is leading the state while Gov. Greg Abbott is on an international trip, will provide an update on the state’s response to Hurricane Beryl at 5 p.m. Watch the news conference live on Facebook.
As over 2.1 million Houston-area CenterPoint customers languish without power, the National Weather Service issued a heat advisory for the area.
As water recedes, Houston TranStar reports 45 high-water locations remain along area freeways, including key portions of Interstate 10 and Interstate 45 north of downtown Houston and Texas 288 to the south.
“We are urging the public to stay home,” said Raquelle Lewis, communications director for the Texas Department of Transportation in southeast Texas. “Already we have seen far too many examples of drivers failing to heed the warnings to ‘Turn Around Don’t Drown.’”
Western segments of the Sam Houston Tollway at Westheimer and many local roads are also impacted.
In some areas, depressed freeways are intended to hold water when drainage systems are overwhelmed to avoid flooding nearby homes.
However, TxDOT plans to redesign some locations to avoid future flooding. Work is scheduled to begin next year on a $350 million project to elevate I-10 near White Oak Bayou, where the freeway is closed as of Monday afternoon.
— Dug Begley
Neighborhoods in Katy, Cinco Ranch, Cross Creek and Fulshear have been without power since early Monday morning.
A few traffic signals near Cinco Ranch High School are operational, but all others are down. Storm damage has largely been limited to downed branches, broken fences and small uprooted trees.
“There isn’t much structural damage, just broken branches and stuff,” said Texas Highway Patrol Officer Corey Robinson, who has been on duty since 6 a.m. Monday. “We’ve got more patrol officers coming in from other cities.”
— Juhi Varma
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo urged residents to remain home Monday as floodwaters from Hurricane Beryl start to recede.
She also told those who do leave their homes to be aware of several remaining threats: floodwaters, falling trees, hanging cable wires, broken traffic signals and — of course — the widespread lack of power.
Harris County Fire Marshal Laurie Christensen warned residents with generators to ensure they are not indoors, calling carbon monoxide poisoning the “silent killer” after storms.
About 7,000 CenterPoint crews will work to restore power to the roughly 2.2 million customers who lost it on Monday. The company expects to have a better timeline for restoration on Tuesday.
Hidalgo said there have been 47 high-water rescues in the county, a total that also includes rescues from Houston first responders.
— Dylan McGuinness
Many Houston residents will need to file insurance claims for damage to their homes, vehicles and other property.
Experts advise documenting damage as soon as possible and providing detailed notes — the size of your television, for example, or the brand of your bike.
“We ask homeowners to follow three basic steps after a storm like this,” said Mark Olson, director of corporate communications for Hippo Insurance, told the Houston Chronicle after the May derecho. “First, and most important, we want them to make sure they and their loved ones are safe. Then we ask that they gather as much details as possible — notes, photos, etc. Then we want to talk to customers about how to minimize or prevent further damage.”
— Erica Grieder
Like a zombie staggering blindly searching for sustenance, Tropical Storm Beryl refused to dissipate Monday and would likely continue terrorizing more of the United States with its damaging winds and heavy rainfall, according to the latest forecast track from the National Hurricane Center.
The projected path for Beryl takes the storm deep into East Texas, from Huntsville to Lufkin, then Nacodoches to Marshall on Monday night, and from Shreveport, Louisiana, to Little Rock, Arkansas, overnight into Tuesday. Even at this point, Beryl would still be a tropical depression, which is an extremely weak tropical cyclone, but still capable of producing winds as strong as 38 mph.
— Roberto Villalpando
Minutes after winds whipped through The Woodlands and downed the township’s famous pines, one determined golfer was swinging clubs on The Woodlands Country Club’s golf course, Cochran’s Crossing Village Association board member Tricia Danto said.
“There’s tree branches everywhere, debris everywhere and he’s out on the course,” Danto said. “I’m shocked at the number of trees down.”
Danto said a downed tree is blocking the entrance to the Cochran’s Crossing shopping center and the Gosling Sports Fields are flooded.
The Woodlands Fire Department did not have reports of water rescues or fires due to downed power lines within the township as of 2:45 p.m. Monday, Chief Palmer Buck said.
— Claire Partain
Before Hurricane Beryl made landfall in Texas, helpers from across the country had already touched down in the Houston area and along the Gulf Coast in anticipation of the wreckage it would leave in its wake.
Now, they’re getting to work.
The Red Cross sent in nearly 400 trained disaster workers from other states. They arrived with emergency response vehicles, relief supplies and shelf-stable meals. This type of cross-country collaboration could become more common as extreme weather continues to worsen at a faster pace, Brad Kieserman, the Red Cross’s vice president of disaster operations and logistics, said in a statement.
The Red Cross is one of numerous groups running shelters across the Houston area for residents who need help in the wake of Beryl’s destruction.
— Rebekah F. Ward
School closures will stretch into Tuesday for many of southeast Texas’ K-12 districts and higher education institutions.
Several of the area’s schools and colleges reported minimal damage but remained with intermittent or no electricity following the storm.
— Nusaiba Mizan, Megan Menchaca and Samantha Ketterer
CenterPoint hasn’t offered any details of when power might come back for those who lost it after Beryl.
The storm knocked out the lights for 2.2 million customers — just about 85% of the company’s Bayou City service area.
CenterPoint has not responded to questions about its timeline, nor has it posted any social media updates in more than three hours as of midafternoon Monday.
— Mike Morris, Dug Begley and Shakari Briggs
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez shared a photo of a dog deputies helped rescue after it was hit by a truck. He’s looking for the owner or anyone who knows an organization or vet who can assist.
A fallen tree ruptured a gas line in the Conroe-area neighborhood of Rivershire.
Conroe police officers blocked off the street. No homes were evacuated. By 1:30 p.m., CenterPoint crews were on the street repairing the leak.
— Sondra Hernandez
Most Houston-area restaurants remain closed as much of the region struggles without power. Here’s a running list of the ones that have reopened or plan on opening Monday. This list will be updated throughout the day.
If you have a business open on Monday, please send an email to jody.schmal@houstonchronicle.com.
As rain picked back up after 12:30 p.m., Phillip Wirth made haste on debris cleanup outside his home on Castle Court in Montrose.
He considers himself a weathered veteran — pun intended. Wirth was in Houston during Harvey and faced other storms when he lived in Georgia.
Cleanup after Beryl only took him 45 minutes. The secret?
“It’s nice and cool right now,” Wirth said.
Wirth has a generator and only sustained damage to an outside fence. He worries now about whether the Solid Waste Management Department will come to collect his debris.
— Abby Church
A woman died early Monday morning in a house fire as Hurricane Beryl stormed through Houston.
It is unclear whether the fire was directly connected to the storm. The Houston Fire Department is investigating the cause.
Around 5:30 a.m., firefighters responded to a blaze at a house on the 8100 block of Bendell Drive, said HFD Public Information Officer Martee Black.
The victim, a woman in her 50s, was taken to the hospital and died. Officials have not released the name of the woman or the exact address of the home.
The woman is believed to have been the only one in the home. No firefighters were injured in the incident.
— Andrea Ball
Despite a plea from officials to stay off the roads, some Conroe residents were out and about around town midday Monday.
The town’s two major grocery stores, Kroger and H-E-B, were back open at noon. Residents also hunted for open restaurants.
— Sondra Hernandez
Will Clayton Parkway is impassable at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, airport officials said on X, formerly known as Twitter. Photos show downed trees and debris blocking the roadway heading to the terminals.
Drivers are asked to use John F. Kennedy Boulevard as an alternative. Officials urged caution, as traffic lights could be out.
— Julian Gill
A man who was stranded in Beryl floodwaters at Highway 288 and Loop 610 South was rescued by Houston firefighters late Monday morning. Nearly 20 calls for water rescues have been made since Beryl wreaked havoc on the region.
* IF YOU WERE TO DIE TODAY, WHERE WOULD YOU GO: HEAVEN OR HELL? IF YOU’RE NOT SURE, “BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AND THOU SHALT BE SAVED” FOR JESUS CHRIST SAID THE MOST IMPORTANT WORDS EVER SPOKEN IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD WHEN HE SAID, “FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD, THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, THAT WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH, BUT HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE.”
*SUPPORT THIS GREAT MINISTRY BY PURCHASING THE BOOK LETTERS TO YOUNG BLACK MEN BY DANIEL WHYTE III. ORDER IT FOR AS MANY YOUNG BLACK MEN IN YOUR LIFE AS POSSIBLE FOR THE GLORY OF GOD.
https://www.amazon.com/Letters-Young-Black-Men-Encouragement/dp/0976348799