Houston, July 9: After tropical storm Beryl slammed into Texas early on Monday, knocking out power to nearly three million homes and businesses and killing several people, it moved east and weakened to a tropical depression, the National Hurricane Centre said on Monday evening. Flooding, rains and tornadoes were possible across portions of eastern Texas, Western Louisiana and Arkansas.

Beryl slammed into Texas on Monday, knocking out power to nearly three million (30 lakh) homes and businesses and unleashing heavy rains that prompted dozens of high-water rescues. The fast-moving tempest threatened to carve a harsh path over several more states in coming days. Texas state and local officials warned it could take several days to restore power after Beryl came ashore as a Category-1 hurricane and toppled 10 transmission lines and knocked down trees that took down power lines. Hurricane Beryl Cuts Power in Houston: Over 15 Lakh People Left Without Electricity in Texas City.

Within hours, Beryl had weakened into a tropical storm, far less powerful than the Category-5 behemoth that tore a deadly path of destruction through parts of Mexico and the Caribbean last weekend. But the winds and rains of the fast-moving storm were still powerful enough to knock down hundreds of trees that had already been teetering in water-saturated earth, and strand dozens of cars on flooded roadways.

As it moved inland, the storm still threatened to spawn tornados. "We are not past any difficult conditions," said Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, who is the acting governor while Governor Greg Abbott is out of the country, warning it would be a "multiple-day process to get power restored". Houston took a hard hit as CenterPoint Energy reported more than two million (20 lakh) homes and businesses without power in and around the nation's fourth-largest city. Patrick said the company was bringing in thousands of additional workers to restore power, with top priority for places such as nursing homes and assisted living centres. Hurricane Beryl Live Tracker Map on Windy: Check Spaghetti Models, Projected Path and Latest News Updates on Category 4 Storm Heading Towards Caribbean Islands.

At least two people were killed when trees fell on homes, and the National Hurricane Centre said damaging winds and flash flooding would continue as Beryl pushes inland. A third person, a civilian employee of the Houston Police Department, was killed when he was trapped in flood waters under a highway overpass, Houston Mayor John Whitmire said. There were no immediate reports of widespread structural damage, however.

The loss of power was an all-too familiar experience for Houston -- powerful storms had just ripped through the area in May, killing eight people, leaving nearly one million (10 lakh) without power and flooding numerous streets. Residents without power after Beryl were doing their best. "We have not really slept," said Eva Costancio as she gazed at a large tree that had fallen across electric lines in her neighbourhood in the Houston suburb of Rosenberg. Costancio, 67, said she had already been without power for several hours and worried that food in her refrigerator would be spoiled. "We are struggling to have food and losing that food would be difficult," she said.

Houston and Harris County officials said power crews would be sent into the area to restore service as quickly as possible, an urgent priority for homes also left without air conditioning in the middle of summer. Temperatures, which had cooled slightly with the storm, were expected to reach back into the 90s as early as on Tuesday. The National Weather Service issued a heat advisory that said the area heat index could reach 105 degrees Fahrenheit (41 degrees Celsius).

The state will be ready to open cooling centres as well as food and water distribution centres, said Nim Kidd, chief of state emergency operations. Beryl's rains pounded Houston and other areas of the coast on Monday, reclosing streets in neighbourhoods that had already been washed out by previous storms. Television stations on Monday broadcast the dramatic rescue of a man who had climbed to the roof of his pickup truck after it got trapped in fast-flowing waters. Emergency crews used an extension ladder from a fire truck to drop him a life preserver and a tether before moving him to dry land.

Houston officials reported at least 25 water rescues by Monday afternoon, mostly for people with vehicles stuck in floodwaters. "First responders are putting their lives at risk. That is what they are trained for. It is working," Houston Mayor John Whitmire said. Javier Mejia was one of about 20 people who gathered near the pickup truck rescue site to take pictures of other submerged vehicles sitting on the flooded highway.

"If you do not have a way through, you are going to get stuck like that," Mejia said. Having experienced previous storms in Houston, Mejia stocked up on food and water before Beryl hit, but forgot gas for his portable generator. He planned to spend the day looking for some. "I do not want it to go bad," he said of the food, adding that if he cannot find gas, "We can just fire up the grill."

Many streets and neighbourhoods throughout Houston were littered with fallen branches and other debris. The buzz of chainsaws filled the air on Monday afternoon as residents set to work chopping up knocked-down trees and big branches that had blocked streets and sidewalks. Patrick warned that flooding could last for days as rain continued to fall on already saturated ground. "This is not a one-day event," he said. President Joe Biden was getting regular updates on the storm after it made landfall, the White House said. (AP)

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