Hurricane Beryl reached record-breaking strength for a June hurricane as it moved through the Caribbean before weakening and striking southeastern Texas as a Category One storm with gusting 75 mile per hour winds. The storm came ashore along Matagorda Bay, between Galveston and Corpus Christi, and resulted in flash flooding of as much as 15 inches before tracking northeast over the Houston area.
As of the time of writing, more than 2 million households were experiencing power outages as a result of the storm’s torrential downpours, harsh winds, and floods – even more households than were left without power in Texas by May’s derechos, which resulted in the loss of electricity for 922,000 people. Several roadways, including Highway 87 off the Bolivar Peninsula and roadways in High Island, became impassable and had to be shut down as they took on massive amounts of rain and flooding. In addition, water rescues were reported in the southern Houston metro area.
The damage caused by Tropical Storm Beryl has been compounded by the destruction many southeast Texas families have already experienced due to torrential downpours and major flooding in the last several months. More than a third of all Texas counties have already experienced a FEMA disaster declaration this year as a result. Texas is only one of many states in which back-to-back disasters have left those with the lowest incomes and from the most marginalized groups with little ability to recover.
NLIHC and members of our Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition (DHRC) will continue to monitor and work to assist low-income households and advocates in the wake of Hurricane Beryl as part of our Disaster Housing Recovery, Research, and Resilience (DHR) efforts. The NLIHC-led DHRC comprises over 900 national, state, and local organizations that work collaboratively to ensure that federal disaster recovery efforts reach those most impacted and most marginalized by disasters, including households with the lowest incomes and those experiencing homelessness.
Read NOAA’s full report on Hurricane Beryl at: https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/outlooks/hurricane.shtml
Read FEMA’s hurricane preparation advice at: https://www.ready.gov/hurricanes
Download the FEMA app to receive updates and sign up for emergency alerts