By The opinion
08 Jul 2024, 13:32 PM EDT
At least two people dead, more than two million families without electricity and hundreds of flights cancelled to and from Texas are Results of the first impacts of Hurricane Beryl.
The hurricane hit as a Category 1but then weakened to a tropical storm southeast of Texas, causing heavy rains and wind gusts of up to 87 mph (about 147 km/h).
Despite its downgrade, the storm prompted authorities to warn of “life-threatening” winds, rain and storm surge.
In addition, almost a thousand flights to and from Texas have been cancelled.
In addition, the office of state Gov. Greg Abbott has urged residents not to underestimate the storm, especially after a 53-year-old man died after winds knocked down power lines and a tree onto his home in Harris County.
In that same county, the death of a 74-year-old woman had already been reported, also due to a falling tree that crashed into the roof of her house.
The storm is causing the cancellation of hundreds of flights to and from Texasincluding approximately 529 from George Bush International Airport in Houston, 80% of all flights originating from that port.
United Airlines was hit the hardest with 405 flights canceled, followed by Southwest with 270; Mesa with 198; and CommuteAir with 143, according to the FlightAware report.
Hurricane Beryl has claimed the lives of at least 12 people since last week, including 10 in the Caribbean.
Other effects from Beryl include tornado warnings for parts of Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas, the National Weather Service said.