From the cover
BY VANESSA HOLT & JESSICA SHORTEN CONTRIBUTIONS BY COMMUNITY IMPACT STAFF
The Woodlands area recovers from Hurricane Beryl
storm were related to patients with oxygen and dialysis needs. “We are also challenged from a post-acute placement standpoint with other skilled nursing facilities, that we would typically be discharging patients to facilities that may still be functioning without power or water, so those patients just aren’t able to leave the hospital,” Kendrick said. 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. In a July 9 news conference, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said more than 2.2 million residents in the Greater Houston area were without power after the storm. Entergy officials said restoration priority was given to the coastal service area and then moved inland, with The Woodlands area slated to receive power by July 14. Internet and phone service was interrupted by the storm as well. Data provided by Comcast showed around 420,000 Xfinity and Comcast business customers’ service had been temporarily interrupted by Beryl’s impact on July 8. What’s next Multiple storms have battered the Houston area since April, leaving
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Beryl by the numbers
Nancy Becker, president of the Creekside Park Village Association, a Harris County neighbor- hood in The Woodlands served by CenterPoint Energy, said she expected the storm would affect the area based on previous hurricanes. “We all expected that [CenterPoint] would be better prepared and the residents at this point are frustrated,” Becker said. Montgomery County Judge Mark Keough provided updates throughout the week on social media, and on July 10 he also expressed frustration with the response. In a special hearing before the Public Utility Commission on July 11, CenterPoint Executive Vice President Jason Ryan defended the work being done by employees. “Where we have to rebuild large spans of infrastructure, with poles that snapped in half laying on the ground ... that is the kind of work that’s going to lead to those extended power outages,” he told commissioners. What happened? Hurricane Beryl made landfall July 8 as a Category 1 hurricane with 80 mph winds near Matagorda. In Montgomery
8 people in Texas have died as a result of Hurricane Beryl. 6 power lines were downed during the storm in The Woodlands area.
7 rescues were conducted by The Woodlands Fire Department.
$28B-$32B is the preliminary estimate of the total damage and economic loss from Beryl in the U.S.
Historical peak wind gusts The Woodlands area George Bush
Intercontinental Airport
74 mph
Hurricane Beryl (July 8) Derecho (Early May 2024) Isolated thunderstorm (June 2023) Hurricane Harvey (August 2017) Hurricane Ike (September 2008)
83 mph
62 mph
91 mph
41 mph
82 mph
“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.” THOMAS GLEESON, CHAIR OF THE PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION OF TEXAS
County, the unofficial highest wind speeds reached as high as 74 mph on July 8, accord- ing to the NWS. Beryl dropped as much as 6.36 inches of rain on Woodlands Parkway near McBeth Way, NWS data shows.
Historical two-day rainfall averages
The Woodlands
Lake Conroe Dam
6.12 in.
Hurricane Beryl (July 8)
4.6 in.
millions of customers without power for days
4.64 in.
May rainfall event (May 1-3)
0.92 in.
and killing several people. 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 the state of Texas that will provide local and state officials with federal assistance for debris removal and emergency protective measures, according to a July 9 news release from the Texas Division of Emergency Management.
In addition to the damage done to power service, The Woodlands Fire Department responded to 235 calls between 5 a.m. and midnight on July 8, said Fire Chief Palmer Buck, including 35 calls for trees on homes. Buck said incidents included one in the village of Grogan’s Mill in which an elderly woman and her daughter were trapped on the second floor of their home after a tree fell on it. Montgomery County Hospital District reported a total of 3,201 medical and fire 911 calls from 5 a.m. July 8 to midnight July 11, with the highest number of calls relating to breathing problems. Justin Kendrick, senior vice president and CEO of Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Medical Center and Memorial Hermann Northeast Hospital, said many of the hospital’s emergency room cases in the wake of the
21.4 in.
Hurricane Harvey (August 2017)
19.52 in.
Historical peak power outages in the Greater Houston area
CenterPoint
Entergy
2.2M
Hurricane Beryl (July 8)
360,000
930,000
Derecho (Early May 2024)
44,500
2.2M
Hurricane Ike (September 2008)
393,000
SOURCES: THE WOODLANDS FIRE DEPARTMENT, ENTERGY, THE WOODLANDS TOWNSHIP, SAN JACINTO RIVER AUTHORITY, CENTERPOINT ENERGY, ACCUWEATHER/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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THE WOODLANDS EDITION
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