Texas hunkers down as storm Beryl approaches

HOUSTON: Coastal Texas was under hurricane and storm surge warnings on Sunday, as the southern US state braced for the approach of Beryl, which was threatening to make landfall as a hurricane.

The city of Galveston, southeast of Houston, had issued a voluntary evacuation order for some areas, with videos on social media showing lines of cars heading out of town on Sunday afternoon.

As Beryl´s winds intensified, acting Governor Dan Patrick called on Texans to be on alert, listen to local officials, and leave the danger zone if possible.

“It will be a deadly storm for people who are directly in that path,” Patrick told a state emergency management press conference, saying Beryl was likely to roar ashore before dawn Monday between the city of Corpus Christi and Galveston Island.

“Trust me, you don´t want to be in a Category 1,” he added, referring to the lowest level of hurricane, with winds between 74 and 95 miles per hour.The White House said it was monitoring the situation.

Hurricane Beryl left at least seven dead after it tore through the Caribbean and Venezuela, as winds at times reached Category 5 strength.

It has since weakened to a tropical storm, with winds recorded at 65 miles per hour, but “steady strengthening is expected, and Beryl is forecast to become a hurricane again later today,” the National Hurricane Centre said on Sunday. “Continued strengthening is expected overnight before Beryl reaches the Texas coast.”