Houston Struggles With Beryl’s Blackouts and Searing Heat
- Outages hit cell towers, gas stations, hotels and data center
- Deadly storm now rolling toward New York, New England
Houston is struggling through Hurricane Beryl’s chaotic aftermath, with blackouts, blocked roads, internet disruptions and spotty access to gas expected to linger well after the storm’s floodwaters recede.
More than 1 million homes and businesses are likely to be without power until at least Wednesday night, according to the region’s main electric utility, CenterPoint Energy Inc. The outages, which at their peak cut power to more than 2.5 million customers across the region, disrupted service at cell phone towers, traffic lights and a major data center, while leaving residents to swelter through a heat wave. Many sought the shelter of air-conditioned hotel rooms only to find the properties either blacked out or booked solid.