The death toll from Hurricane Beryl, which barreled through the Houston area on July 8, continues to rise with the latest reported fatalities bringing the count to at least 13. According to the recent updates, the hurricane has caused widespread destruction, with downed trees, structural damage to homes and businesses, severe flooding, and prolonged power outages affecting over 2.1 million customers. The loss of power has proven to be particularly deadly as multiple fatalities have been attributed to the relentless heat that followed in the storm's aftermath.
As reported by ABC7 Chicago, among those who died was Mary Shaw, an 89-year-old Houston resident who passed away after her family tirelessly tried to cool her down amidst a power outage that has stretched over a week. "Her body was so hot. I just started putting wet towels, ice, putting it on her, putting it around her," her daughter Monica Shaw recounted. Tragically, attempts to move her to a care facility were futile as they were met with the reality of full occupancy. Compounding the tragedy are fears that the death toll could rise as Houston continues to grapple with cleanup and recovery efforts in Beryl’s wake.
Additional casualties of Hurricane Beryl, as outlined by Click2Houston, included individuals who lost their lives to incidents directly related to the storm's immediate impact. A 53-year-old man died after a large oak tree fell upon his Atascocita residence. Elsewhere, falling trees claimed the lives of another resident and a man working with a tractor. A high-ranking Houston Police Department employee, Russell Richardson, succumbed while trying to navigate floodwaters to get to his job during the hurricane.
After Beryl passed, the body of a 77-year-old man was recovered from a submerged vehicle that the bayou’s currents had pushed against a wall. On a different but equally grim note, in the aftermath of the storm, a house near Hobby Airport caught fire, resulting in a fatality; the Houston Fire Department Chief Sam Pena indicated the storm's possible link to the blaze, but confirmation is pending further investigation. Additionally, in Magnolia, authorities discovered two deceased individuals in a tent, with the precise cause of their death still under review.
