Houston begins cleanup after Beryl hits Gulf Coast

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HOUSTON — When Tenille London saw her street filling with water Monday morning, she decided to go back to bed, close her eyes and pretend it was a dream.

Any moment now, she thought, her car would fly away.

Instead, a tree branch fell on it, breaking it and punching a hole in the rear window.

“That’s just my luck,” London said Monday afternoon as she surveyed the damage in her neighborhood.

London, 42, knows that hurricanes are a fact of life in this sprawling Gulf Coast city, a place that has seen so many recent storms and hurricanes that it’s easy to lose count.

She was grateful the storm hadn’t been worse than it was.

(Tropical Storm Beryl: How to Get Help and Help Texans)

Hurricane Beryl struck the Houston area as a Category 1, killing at least three people, knocking out power to some 2.7 million Texas homes and, according to local meteorologist Matt Lanza, maintaining hurricane strength until it had passed halfway through the city. It wasn’t until the afternoon that the winds completely subsided, allowing residents to go outside and follow a routine many are familiar with: assess the damage, check on others, clean up and wait for the power to come back on.

But first, they retreated.

Hurricane Beryl had already swept through the Caribbean, becoming the only Category 4 storm on record in June and leaving a trail of destruction across the Caribbean islands. It passed through the Yucatan Peninsula and forecasters thought it was headed toward southern Texas. But its projected path shifted northward as it neared its final landfall, and officials realized Houston would bear the brunt of its “dirty side” — the eastern side of the storm that would bring heavy rain and wind.

Local and state officials urged Houston-area residents to stay off the roads and prepare for flooding and power outages. Edwin Acevedo, a 36-year-old plastic surgeon from New Jersey, prepared by stocking up on gas and buying water and groceries.

(Tropical Storm Beryl Update: State Officials Confirm Third Death From Storm)

New England had seen snowstorms. Now Acevedo would face his first hurricane: “There’s something everywhere,” he said. “You have to be prepared for it.”

Some Houstonians went to supermarkets for water and ice after the storm. An off-duty nurse left with Cheetos and goldfish. Others lined up at Pollo Campero or Burger King. Still others lined up at gas stations.

Beryl strengthened and made landfall around 4 a.m. near Matagorda, a city about 100 miles southwest of Houston. The storm jolted residents awake as its 90-mph winds blew tree branches into windows and ripped shingles off roofs. Houston Mayor John Whitmire said 10 to 15 inches of rain pounded homes.

For Elizabeth Alvarez, 31, the wind sounded like a scream. The mother of six woke up at 4 a.m., frightened, and didn’t go back to bed. She thought her window was going to break. She lost power, and hour after hour, other Houstonians suffered the same fate, with air conditioning and refrigerated food following suit.

Later, Alvarez would drag her pet birds in their cages onto her porch to get some fresh air, while neighbors roasted corn and pork and others kicked a football around. She held a portable battery-powered fan, which she turned off to save for when she needed it.

Across the region, fences collapsed. Restaurant awnings were ripped off. Signs flew off businesses. Traffic lights were bent. A local television station lost power and went off the air. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said on The Weather Channel: “Really, Houston is taking the brunt of the wind and rain.”

Transformers boomed. Entire trees collapsed. At least two locals died — a 53-year-old man and a 74-year-old woman — when trees fell on their homes. A Houston city worker drowned while driving to work.

And the damage continued from there, with Beryl uprooting trees and downing power lines across southeast Texas. In Liberty, a beloved pecan tree outside the historic courthouse was uprooted early Monday, according to Bluebonnet News. The tree has served as a gathering place for generations of residents.

“The rebuilding is going to be significant. There’s been real damage. But the good news for Houston is this is not our first rodeo,” U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz said at a news conference Monday night.

Debris littered the roads. Todd Lundberg, a 47-year-old supply chain worker, combed the area outside his home near the normally low, sleepy Brays Bayou, which was now flooded. For him, Beryl marked “one last hurricane” before he plans to close the sale of his home and complete his move to Nebraska, where his extended family lives and his scientist wife has found a new job.

Nearby, Carlos Aleman, 12, joined a crew cutting down a towering tree while his father, who works among trees for a living, sawed off its base. “It’s kind of necessary,” he said. “I have nothing to do at home.”

Melissa Stephens, 71, and two neighbors cleared branches from fallen sycamores and other trees in front of their Montrose home. The trio used a small battery-powered chainsaw and large plastic hand rakes to collect the leaves.

Stephens has lived in Houston for decades.

“Just get out of here,” she said, “and know what you have to do.”

Stephen Simpson, Pooja Salhotra and Jess Huff contributed to this report.

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