Beryl weakens to tropical depression after slamming into Texas as Category 1 hurricane

HOUSTON (AP) — After Hurricane Beryl slammed into Texas early Monday, knocking out power to nearly 3 million homes and businesses, unleashing heavy rain and killing at least three people it moved east and later weakened to a tropical depression, the National Hurricane Center said Monday evening. The fast-moving tempest threatened to carve a harsh path over several more states in coming days.

Texas state and local officials warned it could take several days to restore power after Beryl came ashore as a Category 1 hurricane and toppled 10 transmission lines and knocked down trees that took down power lines.

Beryl later weakened into a tropical storm and then a tropical depression, far less powerful than the Category 5 behemoth that tore a deadly path of destruction through parts of Mexico and the Caribbean last weekend. But the winds and rains of the fast-moving storm were still powerful enough to knock down hundreds of trees that had already been teetering in water-saturated earth, and strand dozens of cars on flooded roadways.

As it moved inland, the storm threatened to spawn tornadoes and the National Weather Service confirmed on social media that tornadoes had been spotted in northeastern Louisiana. Bossier Sheriff Julian Whittington said in a Facebook post that a woman was killed in the Benton area when a tree fell on her home.

“We’re not past any difficult conditions,” said Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who is acting governor while Gov. Greg Abbott is out of the country, warning it would be a ”multiple day process to get power restored.”

Houston took a hard hit as CenterPoint Energy reported more than 2 million homes and businesses without power in and around the nation's fourth-largest city. Patrick said the company was bringing in thousands of additional workers to restore power, with top priority for places such as nursing homes and assisted living centers.

At least two people were killed when trees fell on homes, and the National Hurricane Center said damaging winds and flash flooding would continue as Beryl pushes inland. A third person, a civilian employee of the Houston Police Department, was killed when he was trapped in flood waters under a highway overpass, Houston Mayor John Whitmire said. There were no immediate reports of widespread structural damage, however.

The loss of power was an all-too familiar experience for Houston: Powerful storms had just ripped through the area in May, killing eight people, leaving nearly 1 million without power and flooding numerous streets.

Residents without power after Beryl were doing their best.

“We haven’t really slept,” said Eva Costancio as she gazed at a large tree that had fallen across electric lines in her neighborhood in the Houston suburb of Rosenberg. Costancio, 67, said she had already been without power for several hours and worried that food in her refrigerator would be spoiled.

“We are struggling to have food and losing that food would be difficult,” she said.

Houston and Harris County officials said power crews would be sent into the area to restore service as quickly as possible, an urgent priority for homes also left without air conditioning in the middle of summer. Temperatures, which had cooled slightly with the storm, were expected to reach back into the 90s as early as Tuesday. The National Weather Service issued a heat advisory that said the area heat index could reach 105 degrees Fahrenheit (41 degrees Celsius).

The state will be ready to open cooling centers as well as food and water distribution centers, said Nim Kidd, chief of state emergency operations.

Beryl's rains pounded Houston and other areas of the coast on Monday, reclosing streets in neighborhoods that had already been washed out by previous storms. Television stations on Monday broadcast the dramatic rescue of a man who had climbed to the roof of his pickup truck after it got trapped in fast-flowing waters. Emergency crews used an extension ladder from a fire truck to drop him a life preserver and a tether before moving him to dry land.

Houston officials reported at least 25 water rescues by Monday afternoon, mostly for people with vehicles stuck in floodwaters.

“First responders are putting their lives at risk. That’s what they’re trained for. It’s working,” Houston Mayor John Whitmire said.

Javier Mejia was one of about 20 people who gathered near the pickup truck rescue site to take pictures of other submerged vehicles sitting on the flooded highway.

“If you don’t have a way through, you’re going to get stuck like that,” Mejia said.

Having experienced previous storms in Houston, Mejia stocked up on food and water before Beryl hit, but forgot gas for his portable generator. He planned to spend the day looking for some.

“I don’t want it to go bad," he said of the food, adding that if he can't find gas, “We can just fire up the grill.”

Many streets and neighborhoods throughout Houston were littered with fallen branches and other debris. The buzz of chainsaws filled the air Monday afternoon as residents set to work chopping up knocked-down trees and big branches that had blocked streets and sidewalks.

Patrick warned that flooding could last for days as rain continued to fall on already saturated ground.

“This is not a one-day event,” he said.

President Joe Biden was getting regular updates on the storm after it made landfall, the White House said. The U.S. Coast Guard and FEMA had prepared search and rescue teams, and FEMA collected bottled water, meals, tarps and electric generators in case they are needed.

Several companies with refineries or industrial plants in the area reported that the power disruptions necessitated the flaring of gases at the facilities.

Marathon Petroleum Corp. said it conducted a “safe combustion of excess gases” at its Galveston Bay Refinery in Texas City, but did not provide information on the amount of gas flared or how long it would continue. Formosa Plastics Corporation and Freeport LNG also reported flaring related to Beryl, according to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

Companies have 24 hours to share emissions data after the flaring stops, a representative from the TCEQ said in an email.

The earliest storm to develop into a Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic, Beryl caused at least 11 deaths as it passed through the Caribbean on its way to Texas. In Jamaica, officials said Monday that island residents will have to contend with food shortages after Beryl destroyed over $6.4 million in crops and supporting infrastructure.

In Louisiana, heavy bands of rain were expected all day Monday and “the risk is going to be for that heavy rainfall and potential for flash flooding,” National Weather Service meteorologist Donald Jones said in a Monday morning Facebook Live briefing.

The weather service in Shreveport issued tornado warnings across northwest Louisiana. The agency confirmed on social media that multiple tornadoes had been spotted in that corner of the state. Information on whether those weather events have caused any significant damage was not immediately available.

Beryl was forecast to bring more strong rain and winds into additional states over the coming days. One of those, Missouri was already dealing with a wet summer. Heavy rains unrelated to the storm prompted several water rescues around the city of Columbia, where rivers and creeks were already high ahead of Beryl's expected arrival on Tuesday.

Associated Press reporters Jim Vertuno in Austin, Texas; Corey Williams in Detroit; Julie Walker in New York; Melina Walling in Chicago; and Jeff Martin in Atlanta contributed to this report.

Buffalo Bayou floods stranding vehicles near Downtown Houston after Beryl came ashore in Texas as a hurricane and dumped heavy rains downtown. (AP Photo/Maria Lysaker)

A rescue crew prepares in Houston, on Monday, July 8, 2024, after Beryl came ashore in Texas as a hurricane and dumped heavy rains downtown. (AP Photo/Maria Lysaker)

CORRECTION CORRECTS NAME People gather outside a home in the 17400 block of Rustic Canyon Trail where Maria Loredo, 74, died after a tree fell on her second story bedroom during Hurricane Beryl Monday, July 8, 2024, in Houston. (Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle via AP)

CORRECTION CORRECTS NAME People gather outside a home in the 17400 block of Rustic Canyon Trail where Maria Loredo, 74, died after a tree fell on her second story bedroom during Hurricane Beryl Monday, July 8, 2024, in Houston (Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle via AP)

CORRECTION CORRECTS NAME Haley Loredo with her brother, Elmer Alvarado, wipes away tears outside her home in the 17400 block of Rustic Canyon Trail where her mother-in-law, Maria Loredo, 74, died after a tree fell on her second story bedroom during Hurricane Beryl, Monday, July 8, 2024, in Houston. (Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle via AP)

An upended tree rests on Bethel Church after Hurricane Beryl moved through the area, Monday, July 8, 2024, in Van Vleck, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Ann McCauley examines the damage at Bethel Church after Hurricane Beryl moved through the area, Monday, July 8, 2024, in Van Vleck, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

City of Galveston workers clear debris from Beryl from the West End of the seawall in Galveston, Texas, on Monday, July 8, 2024. Tropical Storm Beryl was unleashing heavy rains and powerful winds along the Texas coast, knocking out power to more than 2 million homes and businesses and flooding streets with fast-rising waters. (Jennifer Reynolds/The Galveston County Daily News via AP)

Andrew Parada, an employee at Residence Inn mops up the floor as water keeps leaking in during Tropical Storm Beryl wanes on Monday, July 8, 2024, Galveston, Texas. (Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle via AP)

A tattered flag tips in the wind after Beryl moved through the area, Monday, July 8, 2024, in Matagorda, Texas. The National Hurricane Center said damaging winds and flash flooding will continue as Beryl continues pushing inland. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Desi Littleton assesses damages after a tree fell on his home after Hurricane Beryl hit the Texas coast, Monday, July 8, 2024, in Bay City, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

A horse runs through a flooded field after Beryl moved through the area, Monday, July 8, 2024, in Matagorda, Texas. Tropical Storm Beryl unleashed heavy rains and powerful winds along the Texas coast on Monday, knocking out power to homes and businesses and flooding streets with fast-rising waters as first responders raced to rescue stranded residents. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Anthony Le, left, and his father Phuong Le help pull a car stuck in the mud after Beryl made landfall early morning Monday, July 8, 2024, in Houston. The National Hurricane Center said damaging winds and flash flooding will continue as Beryl continues pushing inland. (Ishika Samant/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Louise Cohen, right, and Zilfa Ruhen help clear neighborhood drains after Beryl made landfall early morning Monday, July 8, 2024, in Houston. The National Hurricane Center said damaging winds and flash flooding will continue as Beryl continues pushing inland. (Ishika Samant/Houston Chronicle via AP)

A man looks out a patio at The Oceanfront Loft Apartments in Galveston, Texas, after the patio was damaged from Tropical Storm Beryl on Monday, July 8, 2024. (Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Hook Jefferson assesses damages after a tree fell on his neighbor's home after Hurricane Beryl hit the Texas coast, Monday, July 8, 2024, in Bay City, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Hook Jefferson assesses damages after a tree fell on his neighbor's home after Hurricane Beryl hit the Texas coast, Monday, July 8, 2024, in Bay City, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

A vehicle is stranded in high waters on a flooded highway in Houston, on Monday, July 8, 2024, after Beryl came ashore in Texas as a hurricane and dumped heavy rains along the coast. (AP Photo/Juan A. Lozano)

Jackie Jecmenek, right, talks with city worker Bobby Head as she stands in front of her neighbor's home after Beryl passed, Monday, July 8, 2024, in Bay City, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Beach goers try to keep their balance as wind gusts continue as Tropical Storm Beryl wanes on Monday, July 8, 2024, Galveston, Texas. (Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle via AP)

A hotel guest navigates the halls after power was lost due to Hurricane Beryl, Monday, July 8, 2024, in Bay City, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

William Ruiz uses a tow strap and his pick-up truck to remove a downed tree branch from the middle of the street in his neighborhood during a lull as the eye of hurrican Beryl passes through Monday, July 8, 2024, in Rosenberg, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Resident Isabel Perez rakes up downed tree branches from the street outside of her home during a lull in the wind and rain as Tropical Storm Beryl passes Monday, July 8, 2024, in Rosenburg, Texas. Hurricane Beryl has been downgraded to a tropical storm after sweeping into Texas as a Category 1 storm with heavy rains and powerful winds. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Resident Isabel Perez rakes up downed tree branches from the street outside of her home during a lull in the wind and rain as Tropical Storm Beryl passes Monday, July 8, 2024, in Rosenburg, Texas. Hurricane Beryl has been downgraded to a tropical storm after sweeping into Texas as a Category 1 storm with heavy rains and powerful winds. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

William Ruiz uses a tow strap and his pick-up truck to remove a downed tree branch from the middle of the street in his neighborhood during a lull as the eye of hurrican Beryl passes through Monday, July 8, 2024, in Rosenberg, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Motorists drive through flood waters on Reading Rd. during a lull in the wind and rain as Tropical Storm Beryl passes Monday, July 8, 2024, in Rosenburg, Texas. Hurricane Beryl has been downgraded to a tropical storm after sweeping into Texas as a Category 1 storm with heavy rains and powerful winds. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

A tree uprooted by the effects of Hurricane Beryl lies in a lawn, Monday, July 8, 2024, in Bay City, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Power lines downed by the effects of Hurricane Beryl block a highway near Palacios, Texas, Monday, July 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

An oil tanker heads out to open water as surfers take advantage of waves ahead of Hurricane Beryl's arrival in Port Aransas, Texas, Saturday, July 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Sherry Cothron and Jimmy May board windows as they prepare for Hurricane Beryl's arrival, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Port Lavaca, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

A hotel guest navigates the halls after power was lost due to Hurricane Beryl, Monday, July 8, 2024, in Bay City, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Ed Campbell works to secure his boat as he prepares for Beryl's arrival, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Port Lavaca, Texas. Although Beryl remained a tropical storm Sunday as it churned toward Texas, it threatened to potentially regain hurricane strength in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico before making landfall early Monday. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Leo Cardin walks past a Confederate Artillery Battery display as he watches storm clouds roll in ahead of Beryl, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Port Lavaca, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Jimmy May boards windows as he prepares for Hurricane Beryl's arrival, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Port Lavaca, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Jimmy May boards windows as he prepares for Beryl's arrival, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Port Lavaca, Texas. Beryl is hurtling across the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico on a collision course with Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Jimmy May boards windows as he prepares for Hurricane Beryl's arrival, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Port Lavaca, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Workers with the Galveston Island Park Board of Trustees remove lifeguard towers from the beach near 57th Street in Galveston, Texas on Sunday, July 7, 2024, as Tropical Storm Beryl churns toward the Texas Coast. The storm is expected to make landfall near Matagorda Bay early Monday morning. (Jennifer Reynolds/The Galveston County Daily News via AP)

A message for Beryl is left on a boarded up business, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Rock Port, Texas, as the storm moves closer to the Texas coast. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

People watch waves crash into the 37th Street rock groin in Galveston, Texas on Sunday, July 7, 2024, as Tropical Storm Beryl churns toward the Texas Coast. (Jennifer Reynolds/The Galveston County Daily News via AP)

Doan Vu, right, and Luan Nguyen, left, board up windows as they prepare for Beryl's arrival, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Palaciios, Texas. Texas officials are telling coastal residents to expect power outages and flooding as Beryl was forecast to regain hurricane strength before making landfall early Monday. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Luan Nguyen boards up windows as he helps prepare for Beryl's arrival, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Palaciios, Texas. Texas officials are telling coastal residents to expect power outages and flooding as Beryl was forecast to regain hurricane strength before making landfall. Landfall was expected early Monday. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Doan Vu, left, and Luan Nguyen, right, board up windows as they prepare for Beryl's arrival, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Palaciios, Texas. Texas officials are telling coastal residents to expect power outages and flooding as Beryl was forecast to regain hurricane strength before making landfall early Monday. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Clyde George, left, and his son Chris George board up their home ahead of the arrival of Tropical Storm Beryl on Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Port O'Connor, Texas. (Jon Shapley/Houston Chronicle via AP)

A man walks his dog near a Confederate Artillery Battery display as he watches storm clouds roll in ahead of Beryl, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Port Lavaca, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Leo Cardin walks past a Confederate Artillery Battery display as he watches storm clouds roll in ahead of Beryl, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Port Lavaca, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Richard Alcazar stacks sandbags in front of the door at Atmosphere The Salon & Beyond in Galveston, Texas, Sunday, July 7, 2024, as Tropical Storm Beryl heads toward the Texas coast. Alcazar, a barber at the salon, prepared the doors for any possible flooding from the storm. ( Jennifer Reynolds/The Galveston County Daily News via AP)

Blake Braun loads his dog Dolly into his family's vehicle as outer bands from Tropical Storm Beryl begin to hit the coast Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Port O'Connor, Texas. (Jon Shapley/Houston Chronicle via AP)

An Israeli airstrike hit a mosque in central Gaza and Palestinian officials said at least 19 people were killed early Sunday. Israeli planes also lit up the skyline across the southern suburbs of Beirut, striking what the military said were Hezbollah targets.

The strike in Gaza hit a mosque where displaced people were sheltering near the main hospital in the central town of Deir al-Balah. Another four people were killed in a strike on a school sheltering displaced people near the town.

The Israeli military said both strikes targeted militants, without providing evidence.

An Associated Press journalist counted the bodies at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital morgue. Hospital records showed that the dead from the strike on the mosque were all men, while another man was wounded.

In Beirut, the strikes reportedly targeted a building near a road leading to Lebanon’s only international airport and another formerly used by the Hezbollah-run broadcaster Al-Manar.

Israel and Hezbollah have traded fire across the Lebanon border almost daily since the day after Hamas’ cross-border attack on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 Israelis and took 250 others hostage. Israel declared war on the Hamas militant group in the Gaza Strip in response. As the Israel-Hamas war reaches the one-year mark, nearly 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in the territory, and just over half the dead have been women and children, according to local health officials.

Nearly 2,000 people have been killed in Lebanon in the latest conflict, most of them since Sept. 23, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

Here is the latest:

BEIRUT — The southern suburbs of Beirut were hit by more than 30 strikes overnight, the heaviest bombardment since Sept. 23, when Israel began a significant escalation in its air campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported Sunday.

The targets included a gas station on the main highway leading to the Beirut airport and a warehouse for medical supplies, the agency said.

Some of the overnight strikes set off a long series of explosions, suggesting that ammunition stores may have been hit.

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron called for “a halt to arms exports for use in Gaza,” saying it's urgent to avoid escalating tensions in the region, his office said.

Macron drew strong criticism from Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by saying "the priority is … that we stop delivering weapons to fight in Gaza.” He made the comments in an interview with France Inter radio, which was recorded on Tuesday and aired Saturday.

France doesn’t deliver any weapons to Israel, Macron said.

Netanyahu released a video statement in which he called out the French president by name and referred to such calls as a “disgrace.”

In a statement, Macron’s office said “France is Israel’s unfailing friend. Mr. Netanyahu’s words are excessive and irrelevant to the friendship between France and Israel.”

“We must return to diplomatic solutions,” it added.

The statement also said that Macron had demonstrated his commitment to Israel's security when France mobilized its military resources in response to the Iranian attack. French authorities did not provided details about France’s role.

Macron has called for an immediate cease-fire in both Gaza and Lebanon.

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — An apparent Israeli airstrike early Sunday killed at least 18 people in central Gaza, Palestinian medical officials said.

The strike hit a mosque sheltering displaced people near the al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in the town of Deir al-Balah, the hospital said in a statement.

An Associated Press journalist counted the bodies at the hospital morgue. Hospital records showed that the dead were all men. Another two men were critically wounded, the hospital said.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment about the strike on the mosque.

The latest strikes add to the mounting Palestinian death toll in Gaza, which is now nearing 42,000 according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and militant deaths, but many of the dead were women and children.

BEIRUT — Powerful new explosions rocked Beirut’s southern suburbs late Saturday as Israel expanded its bombardment in Lebanon, also striking a Palestinian refugee camp deep in the north for the first time as it targeted both Hezbollah and Hamas fighters.

Thousands of people in Lebanon, including Palestinian refugees, continued to flee the widening conflict in the region, while rallies were held around the world marking the approaching anniversary of the start of the war in Gaza.

The strong explosions began near midnight after Israel’s military urged residents to evacuate areas in Beirut’s Haret Hreik and Choueifat neighborhoods. AP video showed the blasts illuminating the densely populated southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has a strong presence. They followed a day of sporadic strikes and the nearly continuous buzz of reconnaissance drones.

Israel’s military confirmed it was striking targets near Beirut and said about 30 projectiles had crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory.

A man checks the site of an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Emergency workers inspect a building that was hit in an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Israeli soldiers pray at a staging area in northern Israel, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)

An Israeli soldier prays at a staging area in northern Israel, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)

People check the site of an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Smoke rises from a destroyed building at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Mourners gather around the bodies of Palestinian men who were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)