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Beryl Outages
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HOUSTON (AP) — Many of the millions left without power when Hurricane Beryl crashed into the Houston area, killing several people and unleashing flooding, now face days without power and air conditioning as dangerous heat threatens the region Tuesday.
A heat advisory was in effect through Wednesday in parts of Texas, with temperatures in the 90s (above 32.2 Celsius) and heat index values up to 105 degrees (40.5 Celsius) expected Tuesday. The widespread loss of power — and therefore air conditioning — could make for dangerous conditions, the National Weather Service said.
More than 2.3 million homes and businesses around Houston lacked electricity Tuesday morning, down from a peak of over 2.7 million on Monday, according to PowerOutage.us. The lack of cooling to people’s homes, downed power lines and nonfunctioning traffic lights led officials to ask residents to stay home if possible.
“Houstonians need to know we’re working around the clock so you will be safe,” Houston Mayor John Whitmire said Monday at a media briefing, urging residents to also know the dangers of high water, to stay hydrated and to check on their neighbors.
Beryl was blamed for killing several people in Texas and at least one in Louisiana, officials said.
The storm weakened into a tropical depression after making landfall, and by Tuesday morning its center was over southwestern Arkansas, moving northeast with maximum sustained wind speeds near 30 mph (48 kph), the weather service said. Its strength wasn’t expected to change much in the next day or two.
Beryl still threatened to unleash more harsh weather over several other states in coming days. It is expected to bring heavy rainfall and possible flash flooding from the lower and mid-Mississippi Valley to the Great Lakes on Tuesday into Wednesday, the weather service said.
A flood watch was in effect for parts of Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan, and tornadoes were possible through the early morning across parts of the mid-South. A few tornadoes were possible from midday to the early evening in Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, according to the weather service.
The weather service confirmed on social media Monday evening that tornadoes had been spotted in northeastern Louisiana. Bossier Sheriff Julian Whittington said in a Facebook post that a woman was killed in the Benton area when a tree fell on her home.
Texas state and local officials warned it could take several days to fully restore power after Beryl came ashore as a Category 1 hurricane, toppled 10 transmission lines and knocked down trees that took down power lines.
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