Caribbean prepares for Category 4 Hurricane Beryl

[neverfstop]

Beryl exploded into a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph Sunday — the earliest a storm of that intensity has been recorded in the Atlantic — leading Caribbean islands to prepare for violent storms to strike Monday morning.


To hit Barbados, skirt Jamaica, and then head towards Mexican Yucatan


GIFT wapo.st/4cL8lk3

[underwaterrhymes]

The Windward Islands are in the direct path. It’s really scary because they don’t have great infrastructure and this is just so early for a storm of this magnitude.

[abs]

It’s going to be a long season.

Thinking of those in the path.

[jamaicam]

We have been really lucky so far, and have just had a lot of rain and some light wind. Fortunately, it turns out a little yesterday which was enough for us to avoid a direct hit. Other areas of Jamaica seem to have got it worse than we have.

CARICOM, our regional organization, has been arranging aid and technical support for St Vincent and Grenada who got hit badly.

[neverfstop]

Beryl makes landfall just southwest of Houston as Cat 1 storm.

Everything is closed here in Houston today & most people were making regular preparations yesterday- food, gas, water, securing outdoor furniture. We've had a string of crazy weather here, so this doesn't seem like it will be too bad. Some strong winds & heavy rain, maybe some localized flooding, but the storm is moving quickly. I had quite a few friends & coworkers who were out of town....from Friday to landfall, this storm turned quite a bit to the North and wasn't really even on our radar, especially last Wednesday (when most people were last home or in the office).

[abs]

I’m listening to the howling wind now. It does seem like this should be manageable. Lots of power outages though.

This is going to be a long season.

[abs]

Yeah it’s not going to be that mild.

75% of the Houston area lost power. Trees are down everywhere. This is going to take a long time.

Our power grid on through most of it but went out right at the end.

This reminds me of Ike.

[turboteal]

Yeah we lost power around 6am, the winds were really strong, shaking the house so I couldn't sleep. We have solar panels and a battery, so we still have lights, internet, fridge, etc, but we can't run AC (requires too much load for the battery to last more than a couple hours). We're making do with fans and getting a little breeze with windows open, but tomorrow will be too hot for open windows to help I think. Currently 83 in the house. I'm so glad we added the battery last year. Fences down around us and trees looking rough, but at least we aren't near any flooded areas. Bayous are out of their banks in lots of areas, 1-10 near downtown for sure and the usual 610/288 area is a lake. Really hope they can get power restored fast. I'm supposed to work tomorrow night but daycare has already said they will be closed tomorrow as there is no power. My husband was supposed to work today, the grocery store was going to open late at 10am, but we were actively getting hit by the eyewall at that time so it got pushed back to noon 🙄. Then people realized they couldn't get in due to flooding, so most everyone was calling out anyways. Not sure if they ever opened, but I'm sure they'll expect him to come in tomorrow.

[neverfstop]

It's actually worse than I was anticipating.....I think we're used to normal severe thunderstorms here & even the derecho recently, but there's pretty widespread power outages, local flooding, and general mayhem. I was supposed to fly out tomorrow morning & they cancelled my flight already...

The CenterPoint website (power/utility provider) was down most of the day, so people couldn't even track outages. Deregulation is still going just awesome here! {/sarcasm]

There were tons of cell towers down (without power) and most people had very intermittent cell/text/internet service, especially if they were without power at home.

[wildrice]

Jul 8, 2024 20:37:17 GMT -5 neverfstop said:

It's actually worse than I was anticipating.....I think we're used to normal severe thunderstorms here & even the derecho recently, but there's pretty widespread power outages, local flooding, and general mayhem. I was supposed to fly out tomorrow morning & they cancelled my flight already...

The CenterPoint website (power/utility provider) was down most of the day, so people couldn't even track outages. Deregulation is still going just awesome here! {/sarcasm]

There were tons of cell towers down (without power) and most people had very intermittent cell/text/internet service, especially if they were without power at home.

My parents are in Rosenberg and have been without power since early this morning. They too can't seem to get any info on when it might be restored. They do have cell service (at least for texting) but it's unsettling having them down there with no power and nothing I can really do to help. Thankfully their neighbors are sharing their generator, but idk what happens if they are out for days.

They had to evacuate for Harvey but never even lost power then (unless maybe while they were away?) so I think this was pretty unexpected for them. Of course, we are from the Midwest so hurricanes are not something they have much experience with.

I hope everybody gets power back soon! No AC this time of year is brutal.

[neverfstop]

Our power came back on about 3 hours ago...our friends that were hanging out with us got power back about 30 min ago & so did a coworker.... So they are working on it.

[abs]

Still 1.8 million without power this morning. They are working hard to remove trees from lines. Hoping to have 1 million restored by tomorrow. I still expect we will be one of the last. Always are!

[turboteal]

No power at my house still when I left for work around 6pm. It was around 90 degrees in the house, so my husband and kids were going to stay at my sister's, they have a generator and are able to use it to run their AC. Hoping it doesn't take much longer for everyone to get power back 🫠

[lilypad1126]

We still don’t have power tonight, so we’re camped out at a hotel. I have a feeling we’ll be one of the last to get our power back. The downed trees are plentiful and I feel for the people who have massive clean up from this. My friends roof leaked and her bathroom ceiling collapsed. Yikes!

[abs]

We somehow have power even though the new Centerpoint maps show we don’t?! I don’t think they have any idea what they are doing. The linemen are awesome and I appreciate them so much but the company is awful.

I almost feel guilty about this because most of my neighborhood still has trees on power lines and won’t be getting relief anytime soon.

Hang in there everyone. So tired of HoustonStrong. It’s more like HoustonTired.

[abs]

Also did anyone see this? This is probably behind a paywall but Biden had to track down Abbott/Patrick to get federal aid approved? Why on earth is it happening this way? Absolutely everything about this hurricane has been weird.

www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-weather/hurricanes/article/biden-says-greg-abbott-dan-patrick-delayed-19563648.php

[underwaterrhymes]

Jul 10, 2024 8:24:34 GMT -5 abs said:

Also did anyone see this? This is probably behind a paywall but Biden had to track down Abbott/Patrick to get federal aid approved? Why on earth is it happening this way? Absolutely everything about this hurricane has been weird.

www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-weather/hurricanes/article/biden-says-greg-abbott-dan-patrick-delayed-19563648.php

Fuck Abbott.

[pixy0stix]

Jul 10, 2024 8:24:34 GMT -5 abs said:

Also did anyone see this? This is probably behind a paywall but Biden had to track down Abbott/Patrick to get federal aid approved? Why on earth is it happening this way? Absolutely everything about this hurricane has been weird.

www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-weather/hurricanes/article/biden-says-greg-abbott-dan-patrick-delayed-19563648.php

I've suspected for a while now that the R govs in TX do this, aka delay asking for aid so it looks like the Feds aren't approving it, with D administrations. Makes them look good when they can stand up and say, "I had to push for funding from the corrupt government, look how great I am!" Up till now I don't think anyone at the fed level wanted to call them out, because really people are going to believe their own narrative on it, and frankly the dems aren't great about highlighting this shit that happens.

[abs]

Jul 10, 2024 9:13:48 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Jul 10, 2024 8:24:34 GMT -5 abs said:

Also did anyone see this? This is probably behind a paywall but Biden had to track down Abbott/Patrick to get federal aid approved? Why on earth is it happening this way? Absolutely everything about this hurricane has been weird.

www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-weather/hurricanes/article/biden-says-greg-abbott-dan-patrick-delayed-19563648.php

I've suspected for a while now that the R govs in TX do this, aka delay asking for aid so it looks like the Feds aren't approving it, with D administrations. Makes them look good when they can stand up and say, "I had to push for funding from the corrupt government, look how great I am!" Up till now I don't think anyone at the fed level wanted to call them out, because really people are going to believe their own narrative on it, and frankly the dems aren't great about highlighting this shit that happens.

I think you are right. Houston is a blue city and this feels like punishment. It’s going to be an ugly hurricane season and this is just the beginning.

[ellipses84]

Jul 10, 2024 9:17:57 GMT -5 abs said:

Jul 10, 2024 9:13:48 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

I've suspected for a while now that the R govs in TX do this, aka delay asking for aid so it looks like the Feds aren't approving it, with D administrations. Makes them look good when they can stand up and say, "I had to push for funding from the corrupt government, look how great I am!" Up till now I don't think anyone at the fed level wanted to call them out, because really people are going to believe their own narrative on it, and frankly the dems aren't great about highlighting this shit that happens.

I think you are right. Houston is a blue city and this feels like punishment. It’s going to be an ugly hurricane season and this is just the beginning.

Yes, Abbott has delayed declaring a federal emergency / approving federal aid to Houston in every major flood of the past few years that I’m aware of including Hurricane Harvey. He absolutely does it to punish the city that does not vote for him.

[neverfstop]

Jul 10, 2024 7:59:18 GMT -5 abs said:

We somehow have power even though the new Centerpoint maps show we don’t?! I don’t think they have any idea what they are doing. The linemen are awesome and I appreciate them so much but the company is awful.

I almost feel guilty about this because most of my neighborhood still has trees on power lines and won’t be getting relief anytime soon.

Hang in there everyone. So tired of HoustonStrong. It’s more like HoustonTired.

Agreed. This is so bonkers and worse than anybody anticipated. The last I saw there at least 1.5 million people without power, and the heat index today is supposed to be 105 or 110. The centerpoint utility map isn’t even working and there’s no estimate of anticipated repair timelines. I haven’t spoken to anybody today that had power restored yesterday at all . Every Hotel in the city is sold out.

[turboteal]

We got our power back last night! Thank goodness. Saw a few crews working at various spots on my drive to work tonight as well. Man, there are so many damaged/broken trees everywhere 😢

[Michelle]

Greg abbot needs to be sent a fresh dumpster full of dicks.

My county was still 80% without power last night. Now, it does border the gulf at the south end, and most of the population borders harris county. But it is a RED COUNTY Abbott. Of course he knows he has the local dickheads brainwashed so they'll still vote for him while he is fucking them over 2 ways from sunday.

Sigh - we are without power. I feel badly complaining because we didn't suffer damage. But we are in a nook of our neighborhood that was also hit hard during the 2021 freeze where i had to gut a room due to burst pipes after loss of electricity and therefore heat to the house. We went without power for like 6 days then. But the whole grid was F'd.

The grid is fine, but our local infrastructure is still not powered on everywhere. Centerpoint shows us in the green as powered on and we aren't. 

We did get a generator for fridges and fans after the big freeze, but fans in 100 degree heat only do so much. Thankfully my office has a/c and my spouse can work from a local bar that has power so he is good with beer and checks on the house frequently since the generator is going. Gotta keep the fans on the dogs so they don't overheat. Thanks to our freezer I'm chilling blocks of ice for the dog bowls to try to help give them relief.

My kid is staying with a friend that has power.

Now - the major screwing of our area - all our community hospitals were on backup generator power for days. I am not sure they have all been restored. Our big hospital in the med center was fine, but all our outpatient emergency care centers were also on generator power. This caused major patient care impact, delays, interruptions of care. 

And guess what? Greg Abbott doesn't GAF because we came out in favor of police reform after George Floyd and pushed the Covid Vaccine. So he wants to fuck us all over - everyone in our community, young, old, rich or poor. He, Cruz, Patrick - they are all the devil.

Guess what else he is doing - I have to find the article but there is a financial disincentive to getting solar power or other alternative fuels here in Texas, aimed at continuing to prop up the oil and gas industry at the detriment to the population.

I fucking hate it here.

[Michelle]

PS - my back neighbors had to call the fire department because carbon monoxide detectors were going off thanks to all our generators trying to keep our homes below 90 degrees with fans and keep all our food from spoiling and ice on hand.

Thankfully no one was harmed.

[Michelle]

More impact of Beryl on community healthcare: www.nytimes.com/2024/07/10/us/heat-power-outage-houston.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb

[neverfstop]

Things are not good here....the recovery is slower than anybody could have imagined & it seems like we're watching a slow moving disaster.. I think there's like 800K people still without power, which is insane. Cell service is still spotty in parts of town, there are many boil water notices... Seems like there is some epic mismanagement going on here.

This is from the Chron. www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-weather/hurricanes/article/centerpoint-beryl-water-plant-power-19569507.php

Senior officials at City Hall, records show, have struggled to get CenterPoint's help powering up “life safety critical infrastructure,” including water and sewer plants.

In a 1 a.m. email Thursday morning, Houston Transtar director Brian Mason urged CenterPoint officials to help restore power to a southside water plant — “needed ASAP to prevent a Boil Water Notice for 4+ million regional residents” — and get four sewer plants back online, lest they dump untreated sewage into local bayous.

Mason said he had emailed, texted, called and spoken in person with numerous senior CenterPoint officials but had “seen few results, and we receive very few responses and no status or progress updates.”

[abs]

Yeah in the past disasters have brought people together here. It was all HoustonStrong everywhere. Now? Nope. It’s finger pointing, fighting politicians, residents fighting each other for gas, linemen being threatened with guns….iit’s not good. We are all disaster weary. I hope these feelings are remembered when we vote but unfortunately everyone is mad at our county judge and Abbott/Patrick are getting a pass even though they are the ones that are letting the utilities answer to a board in their back pockets.

[underwaterrhymes]

I’m so sorry for everyone who is dealing with this.

[basilosaurus]

Jul 12, 2024 16:09:30 GMT -5 abs said:

Yeah in the past disasters have brought people together here. It was all HoustonStrong everywhere. Now? Nope. It’s finger pointing, fighting politicians, residents fighting each other for gas, linemen being threatened with guns….iit’s not good. We are all disaster weary. I hope these feelings are remembered when we vote but unfortunately everyone is mad at our county judge and Abbott/Patrick are getting a pass even though they are the ones that are letting the utilities answer to a board in their back pockets.

Don't forget blaming Biden. Someone speculated above that Abbot/Patrick intentionally delayed federal assistance so they could blame Biden. That is currently what they're doing.

[fumbalina]

Centerpoint is a big problem. However, I am also concerned about the MUD as well. They like to send boil water notices via text. Most articles i attempted to read about the notices were behind paywalls or required signing into your account.

I regret not purchasing a battery operated radio because it was so isolating this time. The cells went out the minute the power did.