Remnants of Hurricane Beryl move north as Texas recovers from deadly storm
At least eight people were killed when Hurricane Beryl tore through Texas and Louisiana on Monday, including a civilian employee of the Houston Police Department who drove into flood conditions on the way to work, officials said.
Multiple fatalities were due to fallen trees, officials said.
Houston is in recovery mode after the core of Hurricane Beryl passed very closed to downtown, with wind gusts over 80 mph that caused massive power outages.
There are still 2 million customers in Texas facing power outages Tuesday afternoon.
The power outages come as the heat index -- what temperature it feels like -- soars into the triple digits across the region. The National Weather Service in Houston has issued a heat advisory since Beryl has impacted some residents' ability to access adequate cooling.
CenterPoint Energy said it anticipates it will restore power to 1 million impacted customers by the end of Wednesday.
The Houston area is also recovering from more than 1 foot of rainfall.
Houston’s Buffalo Bayou reached 8.5 feet above high tide -- the second-highest water level on record, only behind 2017’s disastrous Hurricane Harvey.
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said Tuesday he's requested a federal emergency disaster declaration through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He said he spoke with President Joe Biden who granted the request.
"With this major disaster declaration in place, we will be able to provide lifesaving and life-sustaining activities," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
She said the federal government has offered generators to help those without power.
"While the storm has passed, our greatest concern right now is power outages and extreme heat," Jean-Pierre said. "So we want to encourage residents to remain vigilant."
She said the president will continue to work to get the state the resources it needs to recover.
On Tuesday, the remnants of Beryl are moving northeast with heavy rain.
Flood watches are in effect in Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan through Tuesday night.
Wind gusts, large hail and tornadoes are also possible in Indiana and Kentucky.
On Wednesday, Beryl’s remnants will sweep thorough the interior Northeast, from upstate New York into northern New England.
Up to 4 inches of rain is possible.
