Tragic Deaths in Texas Heatwave After Hurricane Beryl Power Outages

As the temperature soared in the Houston-area home Janet Jarrett shared with her sister after losing electricity in Hurricane Beryl, she did everything she could to keep her 64-year-old sibling cool.

But on their fourth day without power, she awoke to hear Pamela Jarrett, who used a wheelchair and relied on a feeding tube, gasping for breath. Paramedics were called but she was pronounced dead at the hospital, with the medical examiner saying her death was caused by the heat.

“It’s so hard to know that she’s gone right now because this wasn’t supposed to happen to her,” Janet Jarrett said.

Almost two weeks after Beryl hit, heat-related deaths during the prolonged power outages have pushed the number of storm-related fatalities to at least 23 in Texas.

Dangerous Conditions After Hurricane Beryl

The combination of searing summer heat and residents unable to power up air conditioning in the days after the Category 1 storm made landfall on July 8 resulted in increasingly dangerous conditions for some in America’s fourth-largest city.

• Beryl knocked out electricity to nearly 3 million homes and businesses
• Hospitals reported a spike in heat-related illnesses
• Power was finally restored to most by last week

While it may be weeks or even years before the full human toll of the storm in Texas is known, understanding that number helps plan for the future, experts say.

What is known about the deaths so far?

Just after the storm hit, bringing high winds and flooding, the deaths included people killed by falling trees, people who drowned when their vehicles became submerged in floodwaters, people who fell while cutting limbs on damaged trees, and heat-related deaths.

• Half of the deaths attributed to the storm in Harris County were heat-related

Jarrett, who has cared for her sister since she was injured in an attack six years ago, said her “sassy” sister had done everything from owning a vintage shop in Harlem, New York, to working as an artist.

When will a complete death toll be known?

With power outages and cleanup efforts still ongoing, the death toll likely will continue to climb.

• Officials are still working to determine if some deaths that have already occurred should be considered storm-related

Lara Anton, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of State Health Services, estimated that it may not be until the end of July before they have even a preliminary count.

What do different toll numbers tell us?

Both the approach of counting the death certificates and calculating the excess deaths have their own benefits when it comes to storms.

• The excess death analysis gives a better estimate of the total number of people killed

Understanding the individual circumstances of storm deaths is important in helping to show what puts individual people at risk.

“If I just tell you 200 people died, it doesn’t tell you that story of what went wrong for these people, which teaches us something about what hopefully can we do better to prepare or help people prepare in the future,” Wellenius said.

What do you think?

• Should more have been done to prevent these heat-related deaths?
• Who do you think is responsible for ensuring the safety of vulnerable populations during natural disasters?