Hurricane Beryl pummeled the Texas coastline as a Category 1 storm on Monday, bringing with it threatening winds, storm surges, and major power outages before weakening to a tropical storm.
Wind speeds were reported as high as 80 mph, and flood warnings were issued across several areas of the Texas coast. At least six people have been killed in Texas, according to a report from ABC7chicago.com.
Last week, Beryl emerged as the earliest Category 5 storm on record in the Atlantic, sweeping a path of destruction in the eastern Caribbean and Jamaica before crossing into Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and the Gulf of Mexico. At least 11 people were reported killed in the Caribbean.
The season’s earliest Category 5 hurricane on record weakened after pounding the coastal Texas town of Matagorda with dangerous storm surges and heavy rain before moving across Houston, said the US National Hurricane Center.
Plenty of rain and water was left on Houston roadways on Monday, and several of those roads remain closed.
Houston Transtar reports around 50 locations in the city had high water as of 2 p.m. Monday. One location that has high water are State Highway 288 at 610 South Loop, where a man had to be rescued by Houston Fire Department officials from the flood.
There’s also high water on parts of Interstate 45 and Interstate 10 on all sides of town, including I-45 Southbound between Tiki Drive and the Galveston Causeway Bridge. In Fort Bend County, Grand Parkway northbound from the Harris/Fort Bend County line to Katy Gap is also closed.
Downed power lines and traffic lights are also a concern on Houston roads. If traffic lights are not functioning, The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) urges drivers to treat the intersections as four-way stop.
Drivers should also avoid underpasses as they may still be inundated with water from the torrential downpours Beryl brought.
TxDOT reported on X that it has a fleet of crews working to assess and repair damage throughout the Houston district Tuesday morning.
Source: KHOU.com, ABC7chicago.com, Houstonchronicle.com, CW39.com
