The remnants of what was once Hurricane Beryl have brought heavy rain, flooding and evacuations to the northeastern U.S. state of Vermont just days after the storm came ashore in Texas as a Category 1 hurricane.
The U.S. National Weather Service said between 7 and 15 centimeters of rain fell on portions of central Vermont, flooding towns and cities throughout the region on Wednesday through early Thursday, when some flood warnings remained in effect.
The Vermont Emergency Management Agency said crews were called to rescue people from cars and flooded houses. Evacuation orders were given to several communities.
The tropical weather hit central Vermont a year to the day after the same area was hit by record flooding. The city of Barre — hit hard by last year’s flood — reported streets flooded waist deep with water Wednesday.
The National Weather Service had issued flood watches through midday Thursday for much of Vermont, northern New York, and eastern Maine. It said rounds of showers and thunderstorms capable of high rainfall rates have occurred, causing flash and river flooding.
Tornado watches were also issued for parts of the region. The weather service said the storm system spawned at least one tornado in northern New York and in the Midwestern state of Indiana.
Hurricane Beryl hit the southwestern U.S. state of Texas Monday, killing at least six people. It spread heavy rain farther inland Tuesday and killed one person in Louisiana. It has knocked out power to more than three million homes and businesses.
Authorities in Texas warned it could take days to restore all power. Houston, the fourth largest city in the United States, is among the areas hardest hit by the storm, which came ashore early Monday with maximum sustained winds of 130 kilometers (81 miles) per hour.
Houston residents are now facing dangerous heat with no electricity. A heat advisory was in effect through Wednesday in the area with temperatures expected to surpass 32 degrees Celsius (90 degrees Fahrenheit). The humidity would make the temperature feel like 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).
The storm also forced airlines to cancel 1,300 flights and for oil companies to pull crews from drilling rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.
Before hitting Texas, Beryl killed three people in Venezuela before moving north across the Caribbean, killing three people in Grenada, three people in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and two people in Jamaica.
Beryl also struck Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula before heading for Texas.
The storm set a record as the earliest to attain Category 5 strength during an Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June to November.
Some information for this story was provided by The Associated Press and Reuters.
