GALVESTON – Wednesday night, Dalmar Berndt slept in his Jeep Wrangler with his dog, Dexter, to escape the heat. He had been without power since 4 a.m. Monday.
As a Galveston native, he’s used to storms impacting the barrier island. But frustration set in as his neighbors’ power was restored while his home remained dark.
Berndt was able to stop a few CenterPoint workers as they made their way to grab lunch around the corner from his house to explain his situation. But they were unable to give him any details on when his power would be back.
Berndt is one of many Galveston residents trying to cope with the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl. The storm, which brought winds up to 94 mph on the island, left the majority of the city without power, extensive damage to homes and businesses and debris littering the sides of the roads.
A total of 143 crews are working on both ends of the city to restore power, according to an update posted on the city’s website . But restoration efforts are taking longer than CenterPoint initially projected .
“You can’t rush it,” he said. “You just gotta wait in line.”
‘There’s still a beach’
Carla Stephens, a visitor from Wichita, Kansas, watched her three granddaughters splash in the ocean Tuesday afternoon at Babe’s Beach, a first time for most of her granddaughters. They had never seen an ocean — only a lake.
She decided to make the drive towards Galveston preparing to stop if the roads became impassable. As they approached the island she called the hotel to confirm they were still open and were told their room would be ready, but there was no power.
“We thought about turning around, and it was like ‘You know what, there’s still a beach,’” Stephens said.
During the Fourth of July weekend, the mayor estimated that there were 300,000 “extra people” on the island. There are no exact numbers for how many people evacuated, but quite a few people did leave from Barnett’s observation.
After Beryl’s arrival, the usually busy island seemed quiet. About two dozen people were seen on the beach, while many restaurants on the seawall were closed or undergoing repairs after the storm.
Stephens’ family plans to stay on the island through Friday. The hotel room isn’t bad during the day but trying to sleep at night without power is difficult, she said. To stay cool, the group drives around and goes to the beach.
She’s seen firsthand how the island has begun to recover.
“I’m surprised how much everyone is just getting on with it,” Stephens said.
Open for business
Employees of Queen’s Bar-B-Que swept up glass from broken windows at their storefront. The restaurant had a bit of water indoors and lost power briefly during the storm but overall received minimal damage from Beryl.
As one of the few restaurants with power, employees were doing everything to reopen and service the community, said Gunnar Crew, operations manager for the restaurant.
“I’ve lived here my entire life. I’m not surprised by any weather patterns we get to be honest with ya,” Crew said.
Crew acknowledged that many residents leave the island when a storm is on the way because they know it’s not worth the risk. But employees raced to reopen at noon as Crew took phone calls and erased the July Fourth specials off the storefront chalkboard.
Queen’s served a limited menu, including hamburgers, sausage, pork, french fries, and baked beans. The restaurant stayed open until they ran out of food.
“For the ones who are here, we want to make sure we’re here to help them,” he said.
A recovering island
Hurricane Beryl’s impact is evident across the island.
The gridlock of cars lined up outside gas stations waiting to fill their tanks is contrasted with the activity of CenterPoint employees fixing power lines and homeowners picking up debris in their front yard as a way of escaping the oppressive heat inside their homes.
Despite Beryl’s impact, natives to the island described Beryl as just “a really bad storm.” Beryl didn’t approach the destruction caused by Hurricane Ike in 2008, a Category 2 hurricane that claimed the lives of 74 people across Galveston and Harris counties.
Galveston residents are used to preparing for this time of season . They pick up extra water when shopping and have their generators on hand in case they lose power.
Debris pick-up started right away on the island, Barnett said. Sanitation crews are scheduled to pick up heavy trash soon.
Cooling centers opened on both sides of the city, giving residents respite from the heat.
Although he’s without power, Berndt said the early forecasts allowed him to prepare for the storm. A small generator is powering his TV and his refrigerator full of deer meat. And he made sure to make a run to Spec’s to get some rum, two bottles of Jägermeister, Coca-Cola and a few cases of water.
“It’s better to be safe than sober,” he said.
Most Popular
Comments / 0