Hurricane Beryl intensifies as it approaches Texas coast

Beryl strengthens into a Category 1 hurricane as it moves towards Texas

Hurricane Beryl intensified as it got closer to the Texas coast on Sunday, July 7, alerted U.S. National Hurricane Centre (NHC).

According to Reuters, Beryl, which was the earliest category 5 hurricane, has now strengthened into a category as it crossed the warm waters of Mexico’s Gulf.

The NHC warned that Beryl could be a deadly storm for the communities near the Texas coast.

In its latest advisory, NHC said, “Additional strengthening is expected before landfall on the Texas coast.”

Moreover, flights are cancelled while major oil ports are closed in the South Central State of the United States due to the hurricane.

The director of the US National Hurricane Centre, Michael Brennan, asked those living in Beryl’s path to move to a safe place by Monday ‘as hazardous conditions will persist even after the centre of Beryl moves through.’

He added, “There's a very considerable risk of flash flooding across the Texas Gulf Coast, eastern Texas, and the and the ArkaTex (Arkansas-Texas) region.”

The acting governor, Dan Patrick, warned that Beryl ‘will be a deadly storm for people who are directly on that path’ and urged people to ‘not ignore this very serious storm.’

Hurricane Beryl has killed at least 11 people as it swept through St. Vincent, Jamaica, the Grenadines, and Grenada.