Post-Beryl breakdown: Orange County fares well

Now nearly a week removed from Beryl’s landfall as a Category 1 hurricane, it’s clear that Orange County, and Southeast Texas as a whole, may have dodged a bullet.

“We’re all thankful this isn’t worse than it could’ve been,” Orange City Manager Mike Kunst said.

Overall, Orange County suffered minimal damage as a result of Beryl, though power outages have left a lasting impact over the following days.

According to the National Weather Service, the storm brought an average 3.46 inches of precipitation to the region, with measurements ranging from just 1.75 inches in eastern Orange to 6.02 inches in northern Vidor.

Heavy rainfall caused minor road flooding and poor traffic conditions. In Vidor, police responded to several wrecks as a result of hydroplaning.

As for wind speeds, the highest reports from the NWS clocked in at 40 miles per hour. Gusts created hazards such as fallen limbs, as well as downed traffic lights and power lines.

Property damage was thankfully kept to a minimum for a community all-too familiar with the destructive power hurricanes can bring.

However, power outages did pose a major issue for several days after the weather dissipated.

As Beryl passed through on July 8, over 5,000 Orange County residents were without power as shown by Entergy outage maps. As soon as weather permitted, the provider dispatched crews of almost 1,600 employees into local communities to restore services.

While many residents were still without power at midweek, electricity has since been restored to nearly all Entergy customers in Orange County. As of Friday morning, outage maps show 130 county residents still waiting for service restoration — 107 of which are located in the Vidor area.

Elsewhere in the county, customers with the Orangefield Water Supply Corporation were asked to limit water usage when outages left station lifts operating on generator power. OWSC regained full operating efficiency on Wednesday.

As a result of the interruption in service, OWSC customers have been granted an extra day for payments, which are now due on July 17.

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