Not in the clear yet: City officials urge Houstonians to stay put

City of Houston officials urged residents to continue sheltering in place Monday morning as the city gets battered by the tail end of now-Tropical Storm Beryl.

“All I want to do is urge everyone, I plead with you, shelter in place,” said Mayor John Whitmire at an 11 a.m. news conference. “Please do not put our first responders in danger.”

Houstonians woke up to Beryl’s eye wall moving through city limits, bringing with it winds of nearly 90 mph and in excess of 10 inches of rain in many parts of the city, Whitmire said. The storm’s effects have left roads flooded, bayou’s spilling over their banks and downed power lines across the city, Whitmire said.

More than 2 million people are without power in the region , including more than 700,000 within Houston city limits, Whitmire said.

At least two people have been killed by falling tree limbs. One person died in a house fire in southeast Houston, Houston Fire Department Chief Samuel Peña said.

The fire occurred Monday morning on the 8100 block of Bendell Drive, Peña said. It is unknown what caused the fire and if it is related to the storm, he added.

As of late Monday morning, the fire department has undertaken more than 50 water rescues, and the police department has undertaken a further 30 water rescues, officials said.

Officials plan to assess the damage once the worst of the storm passes around noon, Whitmire said.

Most of the city’s multiservice centers are without power, as well as the George R. Brown Convention Center, Whitmire said. After assessments are completed, the city will open shelters based on which facilities have power and which areas of the city they are needed, Whitmire added.

With power out across the city, Peña encouraged residents to practice generator safety, emphasizing the wave of carbon monoxide poisoning calls that usually accompany power outages in the region.

The city’s water system and wastewater system are functioning properly, officials said.

The Houston Police Department is also stationing officers in areas without power, HPD Acting Chief Larry Satterwhite said.

The city has been in contact with local partners, state officials and the White House, Whitmire said.

The central message from officials on Monday morning was for residents to stay at home until the storm has totally cleared the area.

Whitmire said his house was without power this morning and was barely able to travel to the city Office of Emergency Management, the city’s headquarters for managing the disaster.

If a driver gets stuck on a flooded road, “you’re dead in the water, essentially,” Peña said.