Texas governor jets off to Asia as state is hammered by deadly Hurricane Beryl

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has faced criticism for jetting off to Asia while his state is hammered by a deadly hurricane.

Beryl made landfall along the Texas coast as a category 1 Hurricane early on Monday morning, bringing with it life-threatening storm surge, damaging winds and widespread flooding.

The powerful storm, which was weaker than when it swept through the Caribbean causing mass devastation as a category 5 hurricane last week, damaged homes, cutting off power to more than two million properties and resulted in several deaths.

According to local and county officials, seven people have so far been killed as a result of the storm in Texas – four in Harris County and three in Montogomery County – while an eighth victim died in Louisiana.

While emergency responders have banded together to try to keep Texans safe, one rather prominent figure was missing.

On July 5 – while Hurricane Beryl was moving towards the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico and was forecast to land in southern Texas by the weekend’s close — Abbott announced that he was heading to Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan to lead an economic development mission.

Organized by the Governor’s Economic Development & Tourism Office and the Texas Economic Development Corporation, the governor left the state that day and is set to return on July 13.

During the nine-day trip, the governor said he would be meeting with world-class businesses and government leaders to focus on “the future of the global economy.” He was joined by Texas economic officials, five Texas legislators, and 23 Texas business and community leaders.

His announcement came a day after he said he was preparing statewide emergency response resources ahead of Beryl making landfall in the Lone Star State.