Southeast Houston family left without power for 12 days after Hurricane Beryl, CenterPoint unable to access their yard

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Friday marks the 12th day that a northeast Houston family has been without power after Hurricane Beryl.

Three trees in their yard have fallen, cutting off electricity, gas and sewer lines, and another is about to fall.

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“I went in the day before yesterday and got my hair cut because I was nervous,” said Carolyn Ann Bennett. “CenterPoint is telling us there’s nothing they can do for us now. We’re stuck between a rock and a hard place.”

The damage to their Harmon Street home was so severe that utility workers could not restore power.

CenterPoint officials sent this statement to ABC13:

“We can confirm that the meter at 6331 Harmon has sustained damage. We cannot safely restore service until a licensed electrician makes the necessary repairs.”

Carolyn’s disabled husband Kenneth says that because no tree physically hit their home, their insurance claims were denied.

He and his wife care for four grandchildren.

“It’s really dangerous to be in this house. I pay all my bills and then I try to get help from people, but they just run me down the drain,” he said.

Damaged power lines also cut power to Dorothy Horton’s home, next door to the Bennetts.

RELATED: How effective are buried power lines in preventing widespread power outages in cases like Beryl’s?

“Never in my life. Never. It’s the worst experience I’ve ever had,” Horton said.

Cleaning the yard safely will be difficult and expensive.

The Bennetts sleep on couches and sleeping bags, huddled together in a single room air-conditioned by a donated generator.

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Local volunteer groups are working to bring in approved teams to help.

They all pray that the tree leaning over their yard won’t fall before workers can safely cut it down.

“If it wasn’t for the man upstairs, my God, I don’t know what we’d do,” Kenneth said.

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