Houston Mayor Urges Houstonians to Stay Home After TS Beryl Passes

Houston city officials urged residents to continue sheltering in place Monday morning as the city is battered by the tail end of Tropical Storm Beryl.

“All I want to do is urge everybody, I implore you, to stay home,” Mayor John Whitmire said at an 11 a.m. news conference. “Please don’t put our first responders in harm’s way.”

Houston residents woke up to Beryl’s eyewall barreling through the city limits, bringing with it winds of nearly 90 mph and more than 10 inches of rain to many parts of the city, Whitmire said. The storm’s effects left roads flooded, bayous overflowing their banks and power lines downed across the city, Whitmire said.

More than 2 million people are without power in the region, including more than 700,000 within Houston city limits, Whitmire said.

At least two people were killed by falling tree branches. One person died in a house fire in southeast Houston, Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña said.

Officials plan to assess the damage once the worst of the storm has passed around noon, Whitmire said.

Most of the city’s multi-service centers are without power, as is the George R. Brown Convention Center, Whitmire said. Once assessments are completed, the city will open shelters based on which facilities have power and which areas of the city need it, Whitmire said.

The city’s water and wastewater systems are functioning properly, officials said.

The Houston Police Department is also stationing officers in areas without power, HPD interim Chief Larry Satterwhite said.

The city has been in contact with local partners, state officials and the White House, Whitmire said.

The main message from authorities Monday morning was that residents should stay indoors until the storm has completely passed the area.

Whitmire said his home was without power this morning and he was barely able to get to the city’s Office of Emergency Management, the city’s headquarters for disaster management.

If a driver gets stuck on a flooded road, “he’s pretty much doomed,” Peña said.

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