Beryl labeled ‘deadly storm’ as 121 Texas counties brace for hurricane: live

The NHC said there is a danger of life-threatening storm surge inundation along the Texas coast from Mesquite Bay to Sabine Pass, including Matagorda Bay and Galveston Bay.

Conditions are expected to deteriorate with dangerous storm surges, flash flooding and strong winds as Beryl is expected to make landfall as a hurricane along the Texas coast, the National Hurricane Centre said.

Beryl is 75 miles (120 km) south-southeast of Matagorda, Texas, and approximately 110 miles (180 km) east of Corpus Christi, Texas, according to 10pm CDT advisory.

The storm is moving with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph (110 km/h).

Communities in Florida are uniting to assist other communities damaged by Hurricane Beryl.

The storm killed at least nine people in Carribbean and pummeled the island of Carriacou in Grenada earlier this week.

Floridians — no strangers to the power of hurricanes — have started making donations of critical items and volunteering their time to prepare the donated goods for shipment to hurricane-hit communities that need them the most.

Rain and intensifying winds began lashing Texas coastal residents as powerful storm Berly moved close after leaving a trail of devastation in parts of Mexico and the Caribbean.

Although Beryl remained a tropical storm Sunday as it churned toward Texas, it threatened to potentially regain hurricane strength in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico before making landfall early Monday.

The storm was projected to come ashore in the middle of the Texas coast around Matagorda Bay, an area about 100 miles (161 kms) south of Houston, but officials cautioned the path could still change.

Texas officials warned the storm would cause power outages and flooding but also expressed worry that not enough coastal residents and beach vacationers in Beryl‘s path were heeding warnings to leave. “One of the things that kind of trigger our concern a little bit, we’ve looked at all of the roads leaving the coast and the maps are still green,” said Texas Lt gov Dan Patrick, who is serving as the state’s acting governor.

Beryl is expected to make landfall in southeast Texas early on Monday morning as a Category 1 hurricane.

State officials have issued a disaster declaration for 121 counties ahead of the storm’s arrival.

Joe Biden and administration officials are monitoring the development of Tropical Storm Beryl as it continues to churn toward southeast Texas.

“We are in close contact with our state and local counterparts and FEMA has prepositioned response personnel, search and rescue teams, bottled water, meals, tarps and electric generators in case they are needed. On Sunday, FEMA activated its National Response Coordination Center (NRCC) to further support local response efforts,” the White House said in a statement to pool reporters on Sunday.

Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick — who is acting governor while Governor Greg Abbott is out of country traveling — has issued a disaster declaration for 121 counties ahead of Beryl’s landfall as an expected Category 1 hurricane on Monday morning.

The declaration allows state resources to be used in preperatory work and recovery efforts.

Abbott advised Texans living in the storm’s path to begin preparing now for the storm’s arrival.

Hurricane season is upon us, known for disastrous flooding and high-speed winds in coastal areas of the United States and in the Caribbean and Central America, and emergency management officials are urging people to stay prepared.

Unlike previous hurricane seasons, this summer brings record hot temperatures nationwide and an early onset of storms. Hurricane season runs June 1 to Nov. 30, but usually the most hurricanes occur in September and October, said Jaime Hernandez, the emergency management director for Hollywood, on Florida’s Atlantic Coast.

The Texas Division of Emergency Management warned residents in areas likely to be affected by Tropical Storm Beryl — which is expected to make landfall as a Cateogry 1 hurricane on Monday — not to drive through flood waters during the storm, as doing so could be deadly.

“There will be inland flooding, and what we find is this freshwater inland flooding tends to be more of a killer of our citizens than the actual storm surge,” Chief W Nim Kidd said during a press briefing said. “So please, please do not drive through water. Turn around. Don’t drown.”