Grenada "Beryl" weakens to a tropical storm in Texas
Hurricane "Beryl" has lost strength after its arrival in the US state of Texas and is no longer a hurricane. As a tropical storm, "Beryl" is now making its way inland with heavy rain and wind speeds of up to 110 kilometers per hour. The US hurricane center warned of "life-threatening storm surges" on the Gulf Coast. The storm is moving towards the northeast at a speed of 21 kilometers per hour. According to the media, at least two people have lost their lives.
"Beryl" made landfall early Monday morning (local time) near the Texan town of Matagorda. Matagorda is located around 130 kilometers southwest of the metropolis of Houston. More than two million households in Houston and the surrounding area were temporarily without power. The White House announced that US President Joe Biden was being regularly informed about the situation. They are in close contact with the local authorities. "Texans in the affected areas should stay off the roads and follow the instructions of local authorities," warned Texas Governor Greg Abbott.
Weather service warns of tornadoes
According to media reports, some residents and store owners in the threatened areas on the Texas coast have boarded up their windows. However, many people did not heed the authorities' call to seek safety. Beryl is expected to move across East Texas and Arkansas late Monday and Tuesday. The US weather service issued a tornado warning for some areas. Meteorologists expect "Beryl" to weaken further in the coming hours.
"Beryl" has been keeping people in the region on tenterhooks for more than a week after it formed in the Atlantic at the end of June. In the south-east of the Caribbean, it temporarily reached the highest hurricane strength, category 5, i.e. sustained winds of more than 251 kilometers per hour. It rushed over several islands in the Lesser Antilles, hit the mainland on the east coast of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula and then moved on through the Gulf of Mexico.
Damage in Mexico and devastation on Caribbean islands
In Mexico, "Beryl" uprooted trees and knocked over road signs. Power was cut in large parts of the much-visited vacation region between Tulum and Cancún.
At least eleven people lost their lives in the Caribbean region, including three in Venezuela. On some of the island states of Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, more than 90 percent of homes were damaged or destroyed, according to the governments. Jamaica also experienced major damage and widespread power outages in some places.
Climate change favors strong storms like "Beryl"
Never before has such a strong storm been recorded so early in the Atlantic hurricane season, which begins in June and lasts six months. Warmer seawater as a result of climate change makes strong hurricanes more likely.
The strength of hurricanes is measured according to a scale developed by meteorologists Herbert Saffir and Robert Simpson: A category 1 hurricane reaches up to 153 kilometers per hour. Category 2 applies up to 177 kilometers per hour, category 3 up to 208 and category 4 up to 251.
Devastating damage is threatened by a hurricane of the highest category 5, which has wind speeds of more than 251 kilometers per hour. Hurricanes often gain strength as they move over the sea. Over land, they quickly lose their strength as there is no supply of warm, humid air masses.
SDA
