From the cover
BY VANESSA HOLT, NICHAELA SHAHEEN & LIZZY SPANGLER CONTRIBUTIONS BY JOVANNA AGUILAR, JESSICA SHORTEN, HALEY VELASCO & AUBREY VOGEL
by Hurricane Beryl, including our fellow Texans who tragically lost their lives or were injured,” Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement July 9. In a July 9 news conference, Lt. Gov. Dan Pat- rick said more than 2.2 million residents in the Greater Houston area were without power after the storm toppled 10 power transmission lines in addition to trees and power distribution lines. Entergy officials said restoration priority was given to the coastal service area and then moved inland, with the Conroe network—including Montgomery and Willis—anticipated to receive power by July 15. In a statement, Eliecer Viamontes, president and CEO of Entergy Texas, touched on infrastructure improvements. “I’ve seen what investments in resiliency can do for a state like Florida, and there’s no reason why we couldn’t do it in Texas and ... our region,” said Viamontes. Internet and phone
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Beryl by the numbers
Entergy, which serves most of Montgomery County, saw a peak outage of 252,460 custom- ers, according to a July 11 news release, while more than 2 million CenterPoint customers lost power in the Greater Houston area. “We have taken a devastating hit from this hurricane, but ... we’re going to recover quickly,” Conroe Mayor Duke Coon said. In Montgomery, Mayor Sara Countryman said the city is beginning to shift focus toward cleanup, with all homes in the city having regained power by 10 a.m. July 13. “We do have trees and debris down, but outside of that, thankfully, flooding was not an issue,” Countryman said. What happened? Hurricane Beryl
8 people in Texas have died as a result of Hurricane Beryl.
10 power transmission lines were downed during the storm in the Greater Houston area.
252,460 Entergy customers in Texas left without power July 8.
2.2M CenterPoint customers in the Greater Houston area were left without power July 8.
$28B-$32B is the preliminary estimate of the total damage and economic loss from Beryl in the U.S.
Historical peak wind gusts Montgomery County George Bush
Intercontinental Airport
initially formed as a tropical depression over the Atlantic Ocean on June 28 before strengthening into the first hur- ricane of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season the following
“I’ve seen what investments in resiliency can do for a state like Florida, and there’s no reason why we couldn’t do it in Texas.” ELIECER VIAMONTES, ENTERGY TEXAS PRESIDENT AND CEO
74 mph
service was interrupted by the storm as well. Data provided by Comcast showed around 420,000 Xfinity and Comcast busi- ness customers’ service had been temporarily interrupted by Beryl’s
Hurricane Beryl (July 8) Derecho (May 16-17, 2024) Isolated thunderstorm (June 2023) Hurricane Harvey (August 2017) Hurricane Ike (September 2008)
83 mph
62 mph
91 mph
41 mph
impact on southeast Texas as of July 8. Officials from AT&T said July 8 that major network facil- ities were online, with some running on backup power; however, customers in affected areas were experiencing service interruptions due to storm damage and commercial power outages. What’s next Multiple storms have battered the Houston area since April, leaving millions of customers without power for days and killing several peo- ple. Thomas Gleeson, chair of the Public Utility Commission of Texas, said state agencies will work with local utility companies to strengthen infrastructure against future disasters. “I look at every one of these storms as a chance for us to review what we’ve done and try to get better at our preparation, our response,” Gleeson said. “And we will do that after this storm so Texans can be assured that we’ll do better as this goes on with every new event.” On July 8, President Joe Biden approved a disaster declaration for Texas to provide local and state officials with federal assistance for debris removal and emergency protective mea- sures, per a July 9 news release from the Texas Division of Emergency Management. Residents who sustained damage are encour- aged to report damage through the Individual State of Texas Assessment Tool.
day, according to the National Weather Service. Beryl traveled through the Gulf of Mexico before turning northeast, and by July 8, it made landfall for the third time as a Category 1 hurricane with 80 mph winds near Matagorda. In Montgomery County, the unofficial highest wind speeds reached as high as 74 mph on July 8, according to the National Weather Service. Between July 7-9, 5.08 inches of rain fell along Honea Egypt Road in Montgomery, data from the Harris County Flood Warning System shows. In addition to high wind speeds and heavy rain, there was significant damage done to power service, according to a July 14 Entergy news release. Following damage assessments, the company’s Conroe network—which includes Montgomery, Panorama Village, Willis and the surrounding areas—experienced: • 118 poles down • 165,300 feet of downed wire • 74 damaged transformers • 119 broken crossarms The impact At least eight people have died in Texas as a result of Hurricane Beryl, including seven in the Greater Houston area as of July 9, local emer- gency management and state officials said. “Our hearts grieve for all the Texans impacted
82 mph
Historical two-day rainfall averages
Lake Creek at Honea Egypt Road Lake Conroe Dam
5.08 in.
Hurricane Beryl (July 8)
4.6 in.
4.56 in.
May rainfall event (May 1-2, 2024)
0.92 in.
17.2 in.
Hurricane Harvey (August 2017)
19.52 in.
Entergy's peak power outages from Houston storms Hurricane Beryl (July 8)
360,000
Derecho (May 16-17, 2024) Hurricane Harvey (August 2017) Hurricane Ike (September 2008)
44,500
193,697
393,000
SOURCES: HARRIS COUNTY, CITY OF HOUSTON, CENTERPOINT ENERGY, ENTERGY, ACCUWEATHER, NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE, HARRIS COUNTY FLOOD CONTROL DISTRICT/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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