Hurricane Beryl has made landfall on the middle Texas coast near Matagorda with a dangerous storm surge and strong winds. The powerful storm moved over land around 4 a.m. Central Standard Time on Monday, the National Weather Service reported.
The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) noted that Hurricane Beryl intensified as it approached the Texas coast on Sunday. This escalation led to the closure of significant oil ports, flight cancellations, and warnings of potential fatalities in affected areas.
Beryl, the earliest Category 5 hurricane on record, devastated Jamaica, Grenada, St. Vincent, and the Grenadines last week, causing buildings and power lines to collapse and resulting in at least 11 deaths.
After wreaking havoc across the Caribbean, the storm weakened but regained strength as a Category 1 hurricane over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
As it has landed in Houston, there are fears that it could strengthen to a Category 2 storm.
The NHC stated in its latest advisory that “further strengthening is anticipated before landfall on the Texas coast.”
Acting Governor Patrick declared 120 counties as disaster areas on Sunday in anticipation of the storm, warning that Beryl “will be a deadly storm for those directly in its path.”
School districts, including the largest in Houston, announced closures as the storm approached. Airlines cancelled numerous flights, and officials ordered evacuations in several coastal towns.
The closure of major oil-shipping ports around Corpus Christi, Galveston, and Houston in preparation for the storm could disrupt crude oil exports, refinery shipments, and motor fuel distribution.
NNEOMA UDENSI
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