Over 5 million Texans are without power as #HurricaneBeryl moves through the Houston area. Restoration will take many days & high temperatures will be in the 90's throughout the week. Today's scheduled #txlege hearing on the progress of utility resiliency plans was canceled. pic.twitter.com/LImZ917T2F
— Doug Lewin (@douglewinenergy) July 8, 2024
Wind and rains will track across the country.
As with a storm that moved through New Orleans last year with the only fatality being from a downed power line, deaths are not at all limited to when the storm is passing.
To start with, people who are not used to physical exertion in the heat can have heart attacks while prepping their homes (boarding up windows, tethering trees, etc.). More heart attacks are possible after the storm, when people are clearing up debris or moving sodden furniture.
And, of course, any time there is a long power outage, there’s an issue with carbon monoxide poisonings from home backup generators. (That applies during winter storms as well, as with the many people who died from CO poisoning after 2021’s Winter Storm Uri.)