Heat-related Texas deaths climb after Beryl left millions without power for days or longer

SPRING, Texas (AP) — As the temperature soared in the Houston-area home Janet Jarrett shared with her sister after losing electricity in Hurricane Beryl, she did everything she could to keep her 64-year-old sibling cool.

But on their fourth day without power, she awoke to hear Pamela Jarrett, who used a wheelchair and relied on a feeding tube, gasping for breath. Paramedics were called but she was pronounced dead at the hospital, with the medical examiner saying her death was caused by the heat.

“It’s so hard to know that she’s gone right now because this wasn’t supposed to happen to her,” Janet Jarrett said.

Almost two weeks after Beryl hit, heat-related deaths during the prolonged power outages have pushed the number of storm-related fatalities to at least 23 in Texas.

The combination of searing summer heat and residents unable to power up air conditioning in the days after the Category 1 storm made landfall on July 8 resulted in increasingly dangerous conditions for some in America’s fourth-largest city.

Beryl knocked out electricity to nearly 3 million homes and businesses at the height of the outages, which lasted days or much longer, and hospitals reported a spike in heat-related illnesses.

Power finally was restored to most by last week, after over a week of widespread outages. The slow pace in the Houston area put the region's electric provider, CenterPoint Energy, under mounting scrutiny over whether it was sufficiently prepared.

While it may be weeks or even years before the full human toll of the storm in Texas is known, understanding that number helps plan for the future, experts say.

Just after the storm hit, bringing high winds and flooding, the deaths included people killed by falling trees and people who drowned when their vehicles became submerged in floodwaters. In the days after the storm passed, deaths included people who fell while cutting limbs on damaged trees and heat-related deaths.

Half of the deaths attributed to the storm in Harris County, where Houston is located, were heat related, according to the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences.

Jarrett, who has cared for her sister since she was injured in an attack six years ago, said her “sassy” sister had done everything from owning a vintage shop in Harlem, New York, to working as an artist.

“She had a big personality,” Jarrett said, adding that her sister had been in good health before they lost electricity at their Spring home.

With power outages and cleanup efforts still ongoing, the death toll likely will continue to climb.

Officials are still working to determine if some deaths that have already occurred should be considered storm related. But even when those numbers come in, getting a clear picture of the storm's toll could take much more time.

Lara Anton, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of State Health Services, which uses death certificate data to identify storm-related deaths, estimated that it may not be until the end of July before they have even a preliminary count.

In the state's vital statistics system, there is a prompt to indicate if the death was storm related and medical certifiers are asked to send additional information on how the death was related to the storm, Anton said.

Experts say that while a count of storm-related fatalities compiled from death certificates is useful, an analysis of excess deaths that occurred during and after the storm can give a more complete picture of the toll. For that, researchers compare the number of people who died in that period to how many would have been expected to die under normal conditions.

The excess death analysis helps count deaths that might have been overlooked, said Dr. Lynn Goldman, dean of the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University.

Both the approach of counting the death certificates and calculating the excess deaths have their own benefits when it comes to storms, said Gregory Wellenius, director of the Boston University School of Public Health's Center for Climate and Health.

The excess death analysis gives a better estimate of the total number of people killed, so it's useful for public health and emergency management planning in addition to assessing the impact of climate change, he said.

But it “doesn't tell you who," he said, and understanding the individual circumstances of storm deaths is important in helping to show what puts individual people at risk.

Stengle reported from Dallas. Sean Murphy contributed to this report from Oklahoma City.

FILE - Keyla Herrera entertains her eight-month-old daughter, Emma, with a movie on her cell phone next to her husband, Edgar, as they sat inside of the cooling center set up inside of Sunnyside Health and Multi-Service Center on Wednesday, July 10, 2024. As of Thursday, July 18, most Houston residents finally had electricity after more than a week of widespread outages. (Karen Warren/Houston Chronicle via AP, File)

Janet Jarrett poses for a photo in the bedroom of her sister, Pamela Jarrett, who passed away after suffering heat related distress due to the power outage caused by hurricane Beryl, Friday, July 19, 2024, in Spring, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Janet Jarrett speaks in the bedroom of her sister, Pamela Jarrett, who passed away after suffering heat related distress due to the power outage caused by hurricane Beryl, Friday, July 19, 2024, in Spring, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

FILE - Volunteers hand out water at a distribution station in Houston, Wednesday, July 10, 2024. As of Thursday, July 18, most Houston residents finally had electricity after more than a week of widespread outages. (AP Photo/Maria Lysaker, File)

Janet Jarrett stands next to a sketch drawn by her sister, Pamela Jarrett, in Pamela's bedroom Friday, July 19, 2024, in Spring, Texas. Pamela Jarrett passed away after suffering heat related distress due to the power outage caused by hurricane Beryl. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Janet Jarrett in the bedroom of her sister, Pamela Jarrett, who passed away after suffering heat related distress due to the power outage caused by hurricane Beryl, Friday, July 19, 2024, in Spring, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Janet Jarrett goes through a storage container full of photos at her home that she shared with her sister, Pamela Jarrett, who passed away after suffering heat related distress due to the power outage caused by hurricane Beryl, Friday, July 19, 2024, in Spring, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

FILE - Utility crews work to restore electricity in Houston, Thursday, July 11, 2024. As of Thursday, July 18, most Houston residents finally had electricity after more than a week of widespread outages. (AP Photo/Lekan Oyekanmi, File)

Janet Jarrett holds a photograph of her, Pamela Jarrett, at the home they shared Friday, July 19, 2024, in Spring, Texas. Pamela Jarrett passed away after suffering heat related distress due to the power outage caused by hurricane Beryl. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Janet Jarrett in the bedroom of her sister, Pamela Jarrett, who passed away after suffering heat related distress due to the power outage caused by hurricane Beryl, Friday, July 19, 2024, in Spring, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Janet Jarrett shows a photo of her sister, Pamela Jarrett, she keeps on her phone at the home they shared Friday, July 19, 2024, in Spring, Texas. Pamela Jarrett passed away after suffering heat related distress due to the power outage caused by hurricane Beryl. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

PARIS (AP) — Thousands of protesters took to the streets across France on Saturday, responding to a call from a far-left party leader who criticized as a “power grab” the president's appointment of a conservative new prime minister, Michel Barnier.

The protests directly challenged President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to bypass a prime minister from the far-left bloc following a deeply dividing —and divided — legislative election result in July. Authorities did not record a huge turnout nationwide.

The left, particularly the France Unbowed party, views Barnier’s conservative background as rejecting the electorate’s will, further intensifying the EU’s second economy’s already charged political atmosphere. Saturday's demonstrators denounced Barnier’s appointment as denying democracy, echoing France Unbowed leader Jean-Luc Melenchon’s fiery rhetoric from recent days.

In Paris, protesters gathered at Place de la Bastille and tensions ran high as police prepared for potential clashes. Some carried placards reading “Where is my vote?”

At the head of the Parisian procession, Melenchon spoke passionately, declaring that “the French people are in rebellion. They have entered into revolution.”

“There will be no pause, no truce. I call you to a long-term battle,” he added.

In the southwestern city of Montauban, a rally speaker told the crowd that “the people have been ignored.” Other protests took place is some 150 locations nationwide.

While Barnier was meeting with healthcare workers at Paris’ Necker Hospital for his first official visit as prime minister, opponents say the unrest in the streets is shaping his government’s future.

Barnier, who is working to assemble his Cabinet, expressed a commitment to listening to public concerns, particularly about France’s public services.

Jordan Bardella, leader of the far-right National Rally (RN), warned that Barnier was “under surveillance” by his party as well. Bardella, speaking at the Chalons-en-Champagne fair, called for the prime minister to include his party's priorities in his agenda, particularly regarding national security and immigration.

Barnier, 73, is the oldest of the 26 prime ministers that have served modern France’s Fifth Republic. He replaces the youngest, Gabriel Attal, who was 34 when he was appointed just eight months ago.

Attal was forced to resign after Macron’s centrist government performed poorly in the July snap legislative elections. Macron called the election in the hopes of securing a clear mandate, but it instead produced a hung parliament, leaving the president without a legislative majority and plunging his administration into turmoil.

Attal was also France’s first openly gay prime minister. French media and some of Macron’s opponents, who immediately criticized Barnier’s appointment, quickly dug up that, when serving in parliament in 1981, the new prime minister had been among 155 lawmakers who voted against a law that decriminalized homosexuality.

Though Barnier brings five decades of political experience, his appointment offers no guarantee of resolving the crisis. His challenge is immense: He must form a government that can navigate a fractured National Assembly, where the political spectrum is deeply divided between the far left, far right, and Macron’s weakened centrist bloc. The outcome of the snap poll, far from providing clarity, has only served to destabilize both the country and Macron’s grip on power.

The president’s decision to turn to Barnier, a seasoned political operator with deep ties to the European Union, is seen as an attempt to bring stability to French politics. And Barnier, who gained prominence as the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, has faced daunting tasks before.

Critics say Macron, elected on the promise of a break from the old political order, now finds himself battling the instability he once promised to overcome.

A demonstrator holds a placard which reads 'Emmanuel it's time to abdicate' during a protest, responding to a call from the far-left party who criticized as a power grab the president's appointment of a conservative new prime minister, Michel Barnier, in Paris, France, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

A demonstrator holds a poster which reads 'Macron treason resignation' during a protest, responding to a call from the far-left party who criticized as a power grab the president's appointment of a conservative new prime minister, Michel Barnier, in Paris, France, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Demonstrators participate in a protest, responding to a call from the far-left party who criticized as a power grab the president's appointment of a conservative new prime minister, Michel Barnier, in Paris, France, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

A demonstrator holds a poster featuring French President Emmanuel Macron during a protest, responding to a call from the far-left party who criticized as a power grab the president's appointment of a conservative new prime minister, Michel Barnier, in Paris, France, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Demonstrators, one displaying French flag, gather under the statue of Marianne, a symbol of the French Republic, during a protest demonstration responding to a call from the far-left party leader who criticized as a power grab the president's appointment of a new prime minister, Michel Barnier, in Paris, France, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

A demonstrator holds a poster which reads 'Macron treason resignation' during a protest, responding to a call from the far-left party who criticized as a power grab the president's appointment of a conservative new prime minister, Michel Barnier, in Paris, France, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Demonstrators shout slogans during a protest, responding to a call from the far-left party who criticized as a power grab the president's appointment of a conservative new prime minister, Michel Barnier, in Paris, France, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

A demonstrator holds a poster which reads 'the monarchs were beheaded' during a protest, responding to a call from the far-left party who criticized as a power grab the president's appointment of a conservative new prime minister, Michel Barnier, in Paris, France, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

A demonstrator, on right, holds a placard which reads 'don't touch my democracy' during a protest, responding to a call from the far-left party who criticized as a power grab the president's appointment of a conservative new prime minister, Michel Barnier, in Paris, France, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Demonstrators display a banner which reads 'democracy against austerity' during a protest, responding to a call from the far-left party who criticized as a power grab the president's appointment of a conservative new prime minister, Michel Barnier, in Paris, France, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Demonstrators participate a protest, responding to a call from the far-left party who criticized as a power grab the president's appointment of a conservative new prime minister, Michel Barnier, in Paris, France, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Demonstrators shout slogans during a protest, responding to a call from the far-left party who criticized as a power grab the president's appointment of a conservative new prime minister, Michel Barnier, in Paris, France, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

France Unbowed leader Jean-Luc Melenchon, center, who criticized as a power grab the president's appointment of a conservative new prime minister, Michel Barnier, participates in a protest demonstration in Paris, France, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

France Unbowed leader Jean-Luc Melenchon, center, who criticized as a power grab the president's appointment of a conservative new prime minister, Michel Barnier, gestures as he participates in a protest demonstration in Paris, France, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

People, some carrying placards, participate in a protest demonstration responding to a call from the far-left party who criticized as a power grab the president's appointment of a conservative new prime minister, Michel Barnier, in Paris, France, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

France Unbowed leader Jean-Luc Melenchon, center, who criticized as a power grab the president's appointment of a conservative new prime minister, Michel Barnier, gestures as he participates in a protest demonstration in Paris, France, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)