The remnants of the storm that hit the southern U.S. state of Texas as Hurricane Beryl spread heavy rains further inland Tuesday, after killing at least three people in Texas and knocking out power to more than 3 million homes and businesses.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center forecast the center of the storm to move up to the Great Lakes in the coming days, spreading rain across Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee, Ohio and Michigan.
Authorities in Texas warned it could take days to restore power. Houston, the fourth largest city in the U.S., was among the areas hardest hit by the storm as it came ashore early Monday with maximum sustained winds of about 130 kilometers per hour.
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said two people were killed by falling trees, while another person drowned.
The White House said President Joe Biden expressed his condolences in a phone call late Monday with Houston Mayor John Whitmire and pledged support for the people of Texas in recovery efforts.
The storm also forced airlines to cancel 1,300 flights, and for oil companies to pull crews from rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.
Before impacting Texas, Beryl moved through the Caribbean, killing three people in Venezuela, 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 crossing the Gulf of Mexico and heading for Texas.
The storm set a record as the earliest to attain Category 5 strength during the Atlantic hurricane season that runs from June to November.
Some information for this story was provided by The Associated Press and Reuters.
