Houston area begins cleanup after Beryl breakthrough – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

Piercing the Beryl clouds on Monday, the Sun illuminated a path of destruction.

Among the hardest hit buildings in Fort Bend County were the Mustang Crossing Apartments in Richmond, where the brick facades of several apartment buildings collapsed as families slept inside.

“All of a sudden I heard a loud noise outside my window, I looked outside and saw that there were bricks all over the ground. The wall of the building right in front of us had fallen down,” Yayko Perlera said.

Perlera’s family of five is one of many displaced people whose apartment is now considered uninhabitable.

For now, they remain at a county shelter while they figure out what to do next.

“We are staying here, we really don’t know where to go,” he said.

Nearby, Rufino Cruz was one of many who woke up to find trees toppled.

“We’re still waiting for electricity. We can’t do anything with it. I don’t have any tools, nothing, you know,” Cruz said.

Cruz said he hoped city crews would arrive soon.

All along his street, neighbors were assessing the damage.

Next door, a garden awning has been torn off. A street corner in disarray, two uprooted trees resting on a car.

On Monday, Houston Mayor John Whitmire confirmed that three people, including a Houston police officer, died in the storm.

As crews race to restore power and cell service, officials said critical infrastructure is a top priority.

They said 7,000 crews were arriving from across the country to restore power. CenterPoint Energy should have a better idea of ​​how long it might take to restore power by Tuesday.

A heat advisory expected for Tuesday is a major concern as many people remain without power.

Beryl made landfall overnight on Surfside Beach as a Category 1 hurricane. High winds, rain and flooding caused extensive property damage. By noon, Beryl had been downgraded to a tropical storm – with winds of less than 74 mph. NBC 5 has the latest.