74-year-old killed when tree falls on home during Tropical Storm Beryl, Texas cops say
At least two people were killed as a “life-threatening storm surge” from Tropical Storm Beryl caused trees to fall on top of houses in the Houston area, officials said.
A 911 caller told dispatchers a tree fell through the roof of her grandmother’s room the morning of July 8 in Houston, the Harris County Constable’s Office Precinct 4 said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Officials said the falling tree killed the 74-year-old woman.
Another man was trapped after gusts of wind nearing 84 mph caused a tree to fall onto a home in Atascocita, deputies said. He was unresponsive as of 7 a.m., officials said. He was later pronounced dead, according to KTRK.
Scores of downed trees and accidents have been reported throughout the Houston area as Beryl continues to travel north, according to officials.
Hurricane Beryl made landfall on Texas’ coast near Matagorda around 4 a.m. July 7 and traveled north, according to Accuweather. It continued north toward Houston when it was downgraded to a tropical storm around 10 a.m., the National Weather Service in Houston said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The storm hit Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula last week and strengthened over the Gulf of Mexico as it neared the Texas coast July 7, AccuWeather said. It has since lost wind strength, which led to the downgrade to a tropical storm, according to AccuWeather.
Matagorda is about a 100-mile drive south from Houston.
This story was originally published July 8, 2024 at 12:26 PM with the headline "74-year-old killed when tree falls on home during Tropical Storm Beryl, Texas cops say."
