Hurricane Beryl rips through Houston as a category 1 storm

In this update we provide information on storm status, flooding/storm surge, and infrastructure issues across Houston resulting from Hurricane Beryl.

Summary

• Beryl made landfall near Matagorda Bay as a strong category 1 hurricane. Wind gusts of up to 90 mph were felt across portions of the greater Houston area. Localized rainfall exceeded 15 inches in some places. Roughly 1.7 million Houston residents were without power as of 2:30 PM CST.
• Storm surge of at least 4 ft along the coastline also contributed to flooding issues. According to NOAA, observed water levels at Manchester, Texas, located far up the ship channel, were well above major flood stage even as of 2 PM CST on 8 July. Water levels at Morgans Point, which sits at the entrance to the ship channel, near Exxon Baytown, was also in major flood stage, but levels here had fallen dramatically from earlier this morning.
• While hard to ascertain operating conditions on the ground, Kpler data as of 2:30 PM CST on 8 July currently shows no vessel movement activity in or out of the Houston ship channel. A statement from the Port of Houston indicated that terminal operations would not restart until Tuesday afternoon.
• The City of Texas City at 5:44 AM CST also tweeted a statement clarifying that the Marathon 630 kbd Galveston Bay Refinery was flaring due to a brief power disruption, albeit further information on the operational status of the facility remains unknown.