Houston Residents Left Sweltering After Beryl With Over 1.7 Million Still Lacking Power

HOUSTON (AP) — The return of soaring heat in Houston on Tuesday deepened the misery for millions of people still without power after Hurricane Beryl crashed into Texas and left residents in search of places to cool off and fuel up as the extended outages strained one of the nation’s largest cities.

Frustration mounted that Houston appeared to buckle under a storm less powerful than previous ones. State officials faced questions over whether Houston’s power utility had sufficiently prepared, including one who said he would withhold judgement until after the lights are back on.

Hospitals also started to feel the pinch: Nearly 36 hours after Beryl made landfall, Texas’ lieutenant governor said a sports and event complex would be used to temporarily hold up to 250 patients who are awaiting discharge but cannot be released to homes with no power.

People coped as best they could.

“We can handle it, but not the kids,” said Walter Perez, 49, as he arrived early Tuesday at celebrity pastor Joel Osteen’s megachurch in Houston, which served as a cooling center and distributed 40-bottle packs of water.

Perez said his family — including his wife, a 3-year-old son, a 3-week-old daughter and his father-in-law — retreated from their apartment after a night he described as “bad, bad, bad, bad.”

Highs in the Houston on Tuesday climbed back into the 90s (above 32.2 Celsius) and humidity that could make it feel even hotter. The National Weather Service described the conditions as potentially dangerous given the lack of power and air conditioning.

Beryl, which made landfall early Monday as a Category 1 hurricane, has been blamed for at least seven U.S. deaths — one in Louisiana and six in Texas — and at least 11 in the Caribbean.

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