Beryl, the earliest Category 5 cyclone on record, last week hit Jamaica, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, killing at least 11 people and causing extensive damage.
Its many coastal areas Texas across the US have been evacuated following warnings of flooding and power outages as Beryl approaches, which strengthened last night to a Category 1 hurricane.
Beryl, the precocious cyclone Category 5 typhoon on record last week struck Jamaica, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, killing at least 11 people and causing extensive property damage.
The storm weakened after passing through the Caribbean, but strengthened again over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
“The strongest winds accompanying Beryl are blowing at nearly 120 kilometers per hour. According to these figures, Beryl became a cyclone. We expect it to strengthen further before it reaches the Texas coast,” the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in its latest update.
The NHC also warned of the possibility of tornadoes in some areas of Texas, including Houston, a city of 2.3 million that is in the path of the cyclone.
“We have to take Beryl very seriously,” said the city’s mayor, John Whitmire.
Houstonians should be aware that “the conditions under which you sleep tonight will be different than the conditions under which you wake up tomorrow morning,” he stressed.
Many coastal areas of the state were put on alert yesterday, Sunday.
Beryl is set to hit the cities of Corpus Christi and Galveston early this morning local time.
Rainfall of up to 380 millimeters is expected in parts of Texas, the NCH said, stressing that flash flooding is possible.
Authorities in Newsis County, where Corpus Christi is located, asked tourists who came to the area to enjoy its beaches to stay away from the city. In the neighboring state of Refugio, which has yet to fully recover from Hurricane Harvey in 2017, authorities issued a mandatory evacuation order on Saturday.
In Galveston some areas were evacuated, with videos posted on social media showing lines of cars leaving the city.
Acting Governor Dan Patrick asked Texans to remain vigilant, comply with the orders of local authorities and get out of danger areas as soon as possible.
Source :Skai
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