Daily TribuneStorm flooded neighborhoods and roads, uprooted trees and damaged power poles and transmission lines.
A technician repairs a power line after millions in Texas lost power due to Hurricane Beryl on July 11, 2024
Mark Felix / AFP
HOUSTON, United States (AFP) — Josh Vance stands in the airconditioned entrance of Sunnyside Community Center in Houston, Texas, one of the designated “cooling centers” open to the public after Hurricane “Beryl” knocked out power during a potent heat wave.
“Dealing with the heat at home, it’s terrible. Honestly, we’re suffering,” he said.
Vance is among one million customers still without electricity, four days after the storm blew through the city.
Though the state’s prominent oil and gas industry weathered the storm, “Beryl” still flooded neighborhoods and roads, uprooted trees and damaged power poles and transmission lines.
By the time the hurricane dissipated, seven people in Texas were dead and two million customers — most of them in Houston — were without power, with half still waiting for it to be restored by Friday, according to poweroutage.us.
While grid operators work to reconnect power, hundreds gather in cooling centers or wait in their cars to pick up ice, water and fresh food.
Vance, 43, lives in Houston with his two children and pet cat, but has spent much of the past week sheltering in the cooling center to escape temperatures which have peaked over 33 degrees Celsius.
“You’d be amazed how much we’re so acclimated to [electricity], and without the power, it’s living in hell,” he said.
The United States has two major power grids: one for the eastern part of the country and another for the west.
Each grid connects to different power sources, so if one state is having problems generating power, it can be redirected from other parts.
However, Texas is the only state with its own autonomous power grid, which has led to regular issues.
