HOUSTON: On Monday, the southernmost part of Texas experienced a landfall by Hurricane Beryl which had led to evacuation of some residents in anticipation for floods and power failure.
Beryl made landfall with wind speeds around 80 mph (130 km/h) at Matagorda, according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC).
The NHC stated on Monday that “life-threatening storm surge and strong winds are occurring with considerable flash and urban flooding expected.”
Tornado alert was also issued on parts of Texas, including Houston, where 2.3 million people live according to the National Weather Service.
“Beryl is one that we must take very, very seriously. And our worst enemy is complacency,” warned Mayor John Whitmire of Houston.
The mayor added that he needed Houstonians “to know these conditions you go to sleep under tonight will not be the same ones you wake up to tomorrow morning.”
Parts of coastal Texas were under hurricane or storm warnings Sunday. Matagorda is about halfway between Corpus Christi and Galveston Island which was where Beryl was supposed to come ashore.
In some parts of Texas up to 15 inches (38 centimeters) of rainfall were anticipated by NHC which said it could cause flash floods in some areas.
Corpus Christi-based Nueces County authorities requested tourists out while nearby Refugio County still struggling from 2017’s Hurricane Harvey issued a mandatory order for its evacuation on Saturday.
A voluntary evacuation order was been issued for certain areas in Galveston city located southeast of Houston with videos posted in social media showing long columns of cars leaving town.
‘A deadly storm’ –
Acting Governor Dan Patrick encouraged Texans to remain watchful, listen keenly to local officials and if possible leave the area prone to danger.
“It will be a fatal storm system as well for those who are right in its path,” Patrick told a state emergency management press briefing.
“You don’t want to be in a Category 1, believe me,” he said in reference to the lowest hurricane level.
Beryl killed at least seven people as it swept through the Caribbean and Venezuela, reaching at times Category 5 strength.
The Mexican government confirmed that there were no casualties or injuries after Beryl hit the country as a Category 2 storm on Friday knocking down trees and lampposts and ripping off roof tiles according to civil protection authority.
It also struck the Cayman Islands and Jamaica, Grenada, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Venezuela.
It is worth noting that Beryl became the first June storm since NHC records began to reach category 4. Moreover, it is the only July hurricane which has ever been rated as category five; however, this happened before July of NHC’s inception.
A storm this strong forming this early in Atlantic Hurricane season which typically begins from early June through late November is uncommon if not rare.
Scientists have said climate change likely contributes to rapid intensification of storms like Beryl because there is more energy for them to feed on in a warmer ocean.
Currently, North Atlantic waters are between two and five degrees Fahrenheit (one to three degrees Celsius) above normal, according to US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
