Downed tree limbs and energy strains, flooded streets, and energy outages have Houston officers pleading with residents to remain house.

Houston mayor John Whitmire held a information convention Monday detailing the dire state of affairs the town finds itself in because it took the brunt of Hurricane Beryl.

“We’re coping with a really severe quantity of water. Round 10 inches of rain throughout the town and 90-mile-per-hour winds and hurricane circumstances,” Whitmire stated. “Please, Houstonians, shelter in place. We’re in emergency and rescue mode.”

Whitmire stated over 700,000 Houston electrical energy clients are at present with out energy, and the area’s two main airports should not open. Nonetheless, metropolis officers ought to higher perceive the state of affairs now that the storm is shifting away.

“We’re experiencing the soiled facet of a grimy storm,” Whitmire stated.

The storm’s sustained winds have been nonetheless at 70 miles per hour because it moved from the Gulf Coast into the Houston space. The Nationwide Hurricane Middle stated that as much as 10 inches of rain may fall in some locations — and a few remoted areas of the state could obtain 15 inches. Some areas of Houston have already acquired practically 10 inches of rainfall, in accordance with information from the Harris County Flood Management District. On Monday morning, native officers within the Houston space stated the storm had downed bushes and triggered road flooding. At the very least two individuals died when bushes fell onto their residences.

In Rosenberg, a metropolis 35 miles southwest of Houston, a downed tree hit a excessive water rescue car getting back from a rescue, police said on X. Officers there additionally urged residents to remain off roadways.

Houston Fireplace Division Chief Samuel Pena underscored the pressure on sources because of the excessive demand for high-water rescues and stay wire calls. These are at present the first service requests, consuming a good portion of their sources, they usually have already helped eight individuals in high-water rescues.

“Earlier as we speak, we noticed a video of a high-water rescue, and you may see how resource-intensive these name sorts are. We are able to’t maintain utilizing these sources. Please be cautious and heed the warnings,” Pena stated.

— Stephen Simpson, Pooja Salhotra and Emily Foxhall