Death toll from Hurricane Beryl in Houston rises to 18, latest data shows

Harris County’s full list includes six people who died from heat exposure during the power outage after the storm and two people who fell and died while trimming trees, according to the Institute of Forensic Science, which serves as the county’s medical examiner.

Experts and local officials said the number of storm-related deaths is expected to rise in the coming days and weeks, and medical examiners have begun to compile a full count of those who have died.

“New cases are still being evaluated,” Jasmine Jefferson, a spokeswoman for the institute, said in a previous interview. “A list of confirmed storm-related deaths is now available on our website and will be updated as cases are certified.”

Representatives for the Galveston County medical examiner did not immediately respond to a request for comment on a possible increase in deaths. They previously released one case they were investigating as being linked to the storm.

In Harris County and surrounding counties hit by Beryl, a series of overlapping agencies are investigating deaths. They must determine what counts as a storm-related death and what doesn’t, which can sometimes be complicated.

Matagorda County authorities are investigating a death that may be linked to the storm, county spokesman Mitch Thames said. A 60-year-old man was found dead in his Bay City home in the days after the storm. He was paraplegic and bedridden and lost power during the storm. His son visited him several times after Beryl to bring him water, but he was found dead of heatstroke, Thames said.

Montgomery County officials have provided few details about the three deaths in the area. An emergency management official said a fallen tree killed a man in his 40s as he was operating his tractor. Two other people were found dead in a tent in a wooded area in Magnolia.

In Harris County, at least eight deaths have been reported as possibly storm-related.

Among them was a civilian employee of the Houston Police Department, later identified as Russell Richardson, 54, who was found dead in a car submerged in floodwaters on Houston Avenue near City Hall. He died while trying to get to work, authorities said.

Fire investigators have determined that a Houston house fire that killed a man early Monday was likely caused by lightning from the storm.
County authorities were investigating two other deaths, including a 53-year-old man in Humble and a 74-year-old woman in Spring.

A man died after a tree fell on a home in Kings River Village in Humble, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez confirmed.

Gonzalez said the 53-year-old man was sitting at home with his family, waiting out the storm, when an oak tree fell on their roof and a structure fell on the man.

Gonzalez confirmed another death after a tree fell on Maria Loredo, 73, in the 17400 block of Rustic Canyon Trail. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said Loredo, a grandmother, was in her bedroom at the time.