Hurricane Beryl was upgraded to a Category 2 hurricane before making landfall in Texas, forcing residents of several coastal communities to evacuate.
Forecasters said the storm would bring damaging winds and up to 15 inches (38 centimeters) of rain, and a storm surge warning was issued for Corpus Christi and Galveston.
The state’s governor’s office has repeatedly urged residents not to underestimate the storm as oil ports are closed and flight schedules face disruptions.
Beryl kills at least 10 people It was downgraded to a tropical storm after hitting Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula.
More than a million Texans were under hurricane warnings ahead of the storm’s arrival.
The National Hurricane Center reported winds of 70 mph (110 km/h) early Monday morning.
Authorities said that while the hurricane may not be as severe as in the Caribbean, it could still cause widespread power outages and damage in Texas and as far inland as the city of Houston.
Michael Brennan, director of the U.S. National Hurricane Center, warned people who live in the path of Berrier to find a safe place until Monday “as hazardous conditions will continue even after the center of Berrier moves.” .
“There is a very high risk of flash flooding along the Texas Gulf Coast and eastern Texas. ArkaTex [Arkansas-Texas] area.
Acting Gov. Dan Patrick urged: “Don’t ignore this very serious storm.”
The ports of Corpus Christi, Houston, Galveston, Freeport and Texas City are all closed, meaning exports may be temporarily halted.
All vessel movement and cargo operations are restricted.
Refugio County, north of Galveston, issued a mandatory evacuation order Saturday, citing limited emergency service personnel capacity, July 4 holiday traffic and weak infrastructure in the area from 2017’s Hurricane Harvey as factors.
Meanwhile, Nueces County ordered a mandatory evacuation of tourists and strongly encouraged locals to leave.
Mr. Patrick announced that more than 2,000 emergency responders were ready to respond to Beryl’s aftermath, including members of the Texas National Guard.
Such hurricanes making landfall in Texas in July are relatively rare, according to U.S. forecaster AccuWeather.
Beryl is expected to move through central U.S. states, including Mississippi, later this week.
Hurricane Beryl was an unprecedented storm. It briefly became the earliest Category 5 hurricane ever recorded.
It has left severe damage in the Caribbean – hitting islands such as St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Mayreau and Union Islands, and Grenada particularly hard.
The storm was also one of the most powerful ever to hit Jamaica, leaving hundreds of thousands without power.
Beryl brought heavy rain to southern Mexico’s tourist hotspots of Cancun and Tulum. No major damage was reported, but high winds downed trees and caused power outages.
While it is difficult to attribute specific storms to climate change due to complex causes, unusually high sea surface temperatures are seen as a key reason why Hurricane Berrier was so powerful.
This is the first hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic season, but NOAA has warned that the North Atlantic could see as many as seven major hurricanes this year, compared with an average of only three per season.
