Millions of people in Texas were left without power as Hurricane Beryl slammed into the southern part of the state on Monday.
When Beryl made landfall in southern Texas as a Category 1 hurricane on Monday, more than 2.5 million homes were left without power, and at least eight people were killed in Louisiana and Texas.
PowerOutage.us reported that, as of Tuesday night, there were still more than 1.7 million customers who were without power — most of whom lived near Galveston through Houston. At least 34 different utility companies were experiencing power outages.
Officials said that it might take several more days, possibly even weeks, for power to be completely restored to everyone in the region. That could pose a major risk for residents who don’t have air conditioning, because heat indexes in that part of the state are forecast to hit the triple digits.
Hurricane Beryl brought with it flooding rains as well as strong winds. Roads were transformed into rivers, which then tossed trees on the roads, into cars and onto homes, as well as ripping down power lines.
On Tuesday, acting Governor Dan Patrick announced that President Joe Biden had issued a federal emergency disaster declaration for parts of the state due to the destruction that the hurricane had caused. As Patrick said:
“FEMA’s assistance with these costs will expedite the recovery process and help ensure the safety of Texans impacted by Hurricane Beryl.”
For all debris cleanup in the 121 counties in the state that were impacted, the emergency declaration will provide 75% reimbursement for all costs.
While cleanup and recovery efforts are well underway, residents in the Houston region are also having to deal with extreme heat. Those high temperatures are expected to last throughout much of the weekend, which typically create very hazardous conditions for people who work outdoors, spend time outdoors, have chronic medical conditions, and those who are young and old.
But, with the hurricane knocking out power for millions, even more people are now at risk due to the fact that they’re likely without air conditioning.
The heat index was reported to be 103 degrees in the early afternoon on Tuesday at the William P. Hobby Airport and the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston.
Some residents have turned to generators to give them power while the outages continue. But, there are dangers of being poisoned by carbon monoxide, with at least two deaths related to this poisoning being reported in Harris County, which is home to Houston, according to W. Nim Kidd, the chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management.
As he explained to residents:
“If you have a generator that you’re running, please make sure it is far away from the area that you are living and sleeping.”
CenterPoint Energy, a Texas-based utility company that experienced a large majority of the outages, said the damage from the hurricane was a lot more severe than they were expecting.
According to the company, 80% of its customers in the Houston region experienced an outage during the peak on Tuesday.
