Category 1 storm makes landfall on Texas coast

At least 1.1 million people have been affected by power outages across the United States as of 8:10 a.m. ET, according to CenterPoint Energy.

Power outages have been rampant since Beryl made landfall in Texas hours ago.

As Hurricane Beryl makes landfall in Texas, NBC News’ Savannah Sellers speaks with Mitch Thames, a public information officer for Matagorda County, about the damage so far.

Hurricane Beryl has made landfall as a Category 1 storm on the Texas coast, battering the state with heavy rain and strong winds. Flooding is a major concern as thousands are already without power. NBC’s Priscilla Thompson reports and TODAY’s Dylan Dreyer follows the latest forecasts.

Beryl knocked out power to at least 11,000 homes in Matagorda County where it made landfall, county spokesman Mitch Thames told NBC News.

“We have a significant number of downed tree limbs and power lines,” Thames said.

Although no injuries were reported, he said a number of vehicles were flooded, which was to be expected along the coast with high waves and storm surges.

“We’re not done,” he said. “If people think we’re in the eye of the storm and the storm has passed … it’s going to come back the other way with strong winds, and it’s going to continue to rain.”

A group of windsurfers enjoyed high waves off the coast of Galveston Island in Texas yesterday, before Hurricane Beryl made landfall.

But a lifeguard put an end to their fun and asked them to leave the water.

According to PowerOutage.us, more than 300,000 people in Texas were affected by power outages as of 6:10 a.m. ET.

Most of the power outages occurred along the Gulf Coast, with all 46,000 residents of coastal Brazoria County without electricity.

In May, deadly storms with hurricane-force winds knocked out power to nearly half a million homes and businesses in Houston, while high-voltage transmission towers were torn down and power lines were downed.

A “life-threatening” storm surge, high winds and heavy rain are “pounding” East Texas, the National Hurricane Center said in its 6 a.m. ET update.

According to the centre, Beryl was moving inland, accompanied by strong winds hitting the coast.

The NHC said a monitoring station in Freeport recorded gusts of up to 92 miles per hour, while another station in San Bernard recorded sustained winds of up to 52 miles per hour.

The Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) deployed 2,500 first responders and 1,200 vehicles and machinery ahead of Beryl’s arrival.

This includes Swiftwater boat squadrons; a public works response team; the Texas A&M Forest Service; the Texas National Guard, which has Chinook and Black Hawk helicopters; Texas Highway Patrol troopers, which have helicopters with lift capabilities; and teams from several other departments.

FEMA is on the ground with more than 100 personnel ready to distribute 500,000 prepared meals, 800,000 liters of water, 20,000 tarps, 2,500 rolls of plastic and generators.

“Beryl is a resilient storm, and it poses a serious threat to Texans during its landfall and for the next 24 hours after it passes through Texas,” Acting Governor Dan Patrick said at a news conference yesterday.

Apartment windows are boarded up in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Sunday in preparation for Beryl’s arrival. Local business owners remove signs that were hanging before the hurricane’s arrival in Galveston, Texas.

At least 102,000 Texans were without power as of 5:20 a.m. ET, according to power tracking platform PowerOutage.us.

About 12,000 of them were in Matagorda, in southern Texas, where Beryl made landfall.