I have been absent. Although Hurricane Beryl was not the most devastating hurricane ever, it caused significant damage in my area. I am grateful to be alive with no damage to my home. Louisiana is my home state, as is my husband’s, so I have seen many hurricanes come and go throughout my life. We now call Texas our home and live in the Houston metropolitan area. The right side of the storm’s eyewall, the worst place to be, passed directly over my neighborhood. In the early morning of July 8, 2024, I could hear very large oak trees plucked by the roots out of the ground. It makes the most eerie sound that I cannot explain.
Beryl was not the worst storm I have seen in my lifetime, but it was the second scariest storm I have experienced. The worst storm that I experienced was Hurricane Rita. Hurricane Rita was supposed to hit a lot farther East than it did. Evacuations were encouraged. We decided to flee and go to Louisiana. We should have turned around to go home when we heard that evacuations in towns East of where we lived were also evacuated. Gas was scarce everywhere, and the traffic on freeways and side roads was packed. We ended up at a friend’s camp house on the border of Louisiana and Texas. Wouldn’t you know that the eye of the storm went straight up that border and right over where we were. Again, trees were plucked right out of the ground and strewn across the landscape. With no gas, we were stranded, but we survived it and were eventually able to return home by the grace of God.
I have seen tropical storms cause more damage than Beryl did. Tropical Storm Allison dropped 40 inches of rain, causing widespread damage and severe consequences in Downtown Houston. I am grateful that my area did not suffer the widespread flooding from Beryl. Hurricane Harvey was a Category 4 hurricane that was not a direct hit to my area, but the rain bands and winds caused significant flooding and damage. I remember that it rained for days and days and days. It was a steady, hard rain that never let up. Fortunately, we were stranded at home with power but could not venture out. The homes on my street are built on an incline. Our streets did not flood, but the streets at the bottom of the incline did. Until they receded, we were stuck. We never lost power, so we were good.
Beryl caused lots of tree damage, downed fences and debris, and I am sure that many homes were damaged with fallen trees and missing shingles, but the biggest problem that Beryl has caused is the widespread power outages. Southeast Texas summers are brutal! Although the Summer temperatures are not as hot as they usually are at this time of year, the real-feel temperatures are over 100 degrees every day due to humidity. The indoor temperature without air-conditioning is in the 90s minus the humidity. Many folks have left town to stay with friends or relatives in other cities to escape the heat. Some folks have generators to keep their refrigerators and freezers going. Sometimes, the generators will run the a/c, but sometimes it doesn’t. some people do not have a generator and have no place else to go to, so they must endure the heat, day and night. We have a generator powering my refrigerator and freezers; however, my family has split up to stay at different locations with friends and family in the area who can accommodate us with a place to stay in their homes with a/c. We come home frequently to tend to the generators and love on our cat, who has no choice but to stay in the hot house. I know he is hot, sad and lonely.
We are on day 5 of no power. The projected day of restoration is not for another 3 days. Other people are in much worse shape than we are. Centerpoint Energy has completely mishandled restoring our power, but that should come as no surprise considering how they mishandled power restoration during the Icepocolypse of 2021. I probably have much more to say about the power situation, but that would make this post worthy of a news article rather than a blog post. When the power finally comes back, the task of cleaning up and cleaning out will begin. We will survive this and get past it because we are Texas tough, but until then, blog posts will be minimal; however, I may have a post or two that I have in reserve that will pop up.
God bless!
