The remnants of the storm that hit the southern United States as Hurricane Beryl spread heavy rains further inland Tuesday, after killing at least six people in Texas and one person in Louisiana. It has knocked out power to more than 3 million homes and businesses.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center forecast the center of the storm to move up to the Great Lakes in the coming days, spreading rain across Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee, Ohio and Michigan.
Authorities in Texas warned it could take days to restore power. Houston, the fourth-largest city in the U.S., was among the areas hardest hit by the storm as it came ashore early Monday with maximum sustained winds of about 130 kilometers per hour (80 miles per hour).
Houston residents now face dangerous heat with no electricity. A heat advisory was in effect through Wednesday in the area, with temperatures expected to surpass 32 degrees Celsius (90 Fahrenheit). The humidity would make the temperature feel like 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).
As of Tuesday morning, PowerOutage.us reported that over 2.3 million homes and businesses around Houston were without power. That number was over 2.7 million on Monday.
“Houstonians need to know we're working around the clock so you will be safe,” said the city’s mayor, John Whitmire.
The White House said President Joe Biden expressed his condolences in a phone call late Monday with Whitmire and pledged support for the people of Texas in recovery efforts.
Airlines canceled 1,300 flights, and oil companies pulled crews from rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.
Before hitting Texas, Beryl moved through the Caribbean, killing three people in Venezuela, three people in Grenada, three people in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and two people in Jamaica.
Beryl also struck Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula before crossing the Gulf of Mexico and heading for Texas.
The storm set a record as the earliest to attain Category 5 strength during the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June to November.
Some information for this story was provided by The Associated Press and Reuters.
