The death toll in Texas in the United States after Hurricane Beryl hit the coast and cut power to millions of residents rose to at least 36 people on Thursday, after officials confirmed that more people died in homes left without air conditioning during the sweltering heat, UNN reports citing AP.
Details
The Fort Bend County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed nine more deaths, including four that were at least partially attributed to hyperthermia, when a person's body temperature rises much higher than normal. According to officials, at least a dozen other residents in the Houston area also died from complications caused by the heat and power outages.
Most Houstonians had their power restored last week after several days of massive outages during sweltering summer temperatures. Officials said that some residents and businesses will have to repair damaged equipment that they are responsible for before they can get power back on.
CenterPoint CEO Jason Wells, chairman of the city-owned power company, apologized to customers Thursday for the company's response to Hurricane Beryl and told state regulators that the company is already working to better prepare for the next storm. Gov. Greg Abbott and lawmakers have demanded an answer from the company as to why it took so long to get power back on.
Addendum
"Beryl, a Category 1 hurricane, made landfall on July 8, cutting power to nearly 3 million people in Texas. Most of those without power were in the Houston area. "Beryl brought heavy rain and winds that uprooted trees and damaged homes and businesses along the Texas coast and in parts of southeast Texas.