3 confirmed dead in Texas as Beryl swamps the region

Tornadoes and flash flooding are the latest threat in eastern Texas and western Louisiana as Tropical Depression Beryl makes its way across the region.

The storm made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane early Monday near Matagorda, Texas, packing sustained winds of 80 mph. It quickly weakened to a tropical depression with winds of 35 mph.

The storm is expected to bring as much as 12 inches of rain in isolated parts of Texas through Monday night, which could lead to heavy flash flooding.

Three to five inches of rain were forecast for portions of far southeastern Oklahoma, Arkansas and southern Missouri through Tuesday.

On Monday, tornado risk was forecast for east Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas. The risk area is expected to move through Missouri, northern Tennessee, Kentucky, southern Illinois, southern Indiana, and Ohio on Tuesday.

In the Houston area, Beryl is blamed for three deaths. The Harris County Sheriff said a tree fell on a house, killing a 53-year-old man who was riding out the storm with his family. His wife and children were not injured, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said on X . Hours later, Gonzalez said officers responded to another home where a tree fell on a house. Inside, they reportedly found a 74-year-old woman who had died.

Houston Police said on Monday afternoon a 54-year-old police department employee had died after being trapped in rising floodwaters.

While the storm has made its way north of Houston, travel in the city is still being discouraged. Power is also an issue as more than 2.5 million people in the state are without service, according to PowerOutage.us . The storm downed utility and transmission lines that state officials say could take days to repair.

Before Beryl made landfall, officials across the state's coastal counties issued voluntary evacuation orders and urged Fourth of July tourists still lingering along the beaches to leave as soon as possible.

However, air travel was brought to a halt for many, especially in the Houston area. Hundreds of flights have either been canceled or delayed at Bush Intercontinental Airport.

Throughout the rest of the week, projections show the storm will move up through the mid-central Mississippi River Valley, and by Wednesday or Thursday, it will reach Toledo, Ohio.

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