PEOPLE GET READY | Hurricane Beryl’s big lesson 

By Forest Riggs 

In June, Galveston was struck pretty hard by Tropical Storm Alberto. After crossing into Mexico and leaving the Yucatan, the winds intensified over the warm Gulf waters. What was thought to be a small depression, for some areas, turned into a real problem for communities along the upper Texas coast. Galveston experienced a 2-to-4 foot storm surge and very high winds, exceeding 50 MPH at times. The streets of Galveston flooded, and the west end of the island took a beating.  Quite a bit of damage occurred due to the flooding and high winds. For the most part, locals hunkered down and rode it out. After a few days of high water and cleanup crews working overtime, things returned to normal for most island residents.  

Just when it seemed OK to breathe a sigh of relief and feel some gratitude for being “missed” by a really great storm, Mother Nature decided to stir things a bit make her presence and power known. Forecasters were watching a new storm that originated off of Africa and quickly grew into a tropical storm and then a hurricane.  

Beryl was the second storm of the season and, at one point, reached Category 5 on the storm scale. Again crossing over the Yucatan, it seemed as though the storm would make landfall in northern Mexico or south Texas. Forecasters with their spaghetti maps made predictions all over the Gulf and into Texas, from New Orleans to Port Aransas. As the storm meandered around the Western Gulf, folks along the Texas and Louisiana coast began to take it seriously and make preparations. Conjuring memories of Allison and other slow-moving and strengthening storms, folks grew very nervous. 

A few days passed, the spaghetti was all over the map and Galveston was readying for wallop! As the storm grew closer it strengthened, weakened over land (in Yucatan, Jamaica on July 3) and strengthened again. Folks in Texas began to take notice; however, there was still some disagreement and confusion about exactly when and where the spaghetti would hit the wall. 

Grocery stores began selling out and gasoline stations were overrun with patrons trying to fill their tanks and gas cans. The lines grew long and very fast. By July 7, the island was in early panic mode. Most gas stations were closing and the few the remained open had lines that went on for blocks. Ice was scarce as the outer bands of the storm were beginning to strike the island. After getting pelted with wind and rain all night, things were going down hill — and fast.  

On Monday, July 8, all hell broke loose and the situation became desperate. Power that had been going and coming went out for one last time. On the east end, transformers could be heard exploding like shotgun blasts. By late Monday evening, Galveston had turned into a dark, flooded and desperate place. Beryl had come and left its mark.  

The next several days saw no power, which meant no AC, no banks, ATMs were down, no gasoline, no ice and grocery stores were closed. Refrigerators full of food ($$$) were not cooling and freezers melted and destroyed frozen items. Forced to sleep outside on porches, Islanders were eaten alive by mosquitoes, and not by just any old mosquitoes, but what the locals call “storm skeeters.” The little monsters bite and hang on, needing to be pulled off or slapped. Tempers were flaring. Most had lost their patience and there was no end in sight.  

Beautiful oak trees along Broadway were uprooted and laying in the street and median. All over the island, trees were down (many having fallen on power lines) and streets and lawns were covered in debris and downed limbs. Many wooden fences resembled fallen dominoes that had been stacked in a row and tipped. Some streets were littered with pieces of detached shingles. And CenterPoint Energy became the enemy to all. 

CenterPoint would post maps that falsely indicated power had been restored to certain areas when it had not. Citizens were angry. One block might have power and all around it, none. It just did not make sense. When asked, a worn-out lineman on a ladder and pole in my neighborhood replied, “Man, this is some shit. All this stuff is old, in bad shape and should have been replaced years ago.”  

“Ya think?” I thought.  

Then he said, “You know, if you guys get a really bad one, it’s gonna wipe out what shitty infrastructure you have.”  

No one expected Beryl to do the damage it did. No one was prepared; the city was most certainly not prepared. There needed to be ice trucks, water stations and more cooling centers around the island. CenterPoint should have had trucks lined up and ready when the spaghetti began to indicate a definite upper Gulf landfall. A lot of folks dropped the ball, from the top to the bottom 

So what does it all mean and where do we go next? After all, this was early July and historically the real storms come in August and September. With the Gulf waters being so warm and the La Nina effect, the island could see more — and worse — storms in the next few months. 

There were huge lessons that Beryl taught. Don’t underestimate any storm, no matter the numbers or forecast. Water can be more damaging than wind in some cases. Stock up on food items, candles, lanterns, batteries, fresh water, pet foods and prescriptions. Most important of all, have a plan. You cannot afford to be caught off guard or unprepared.   

Storms have been hitting Galveston for centuries and historically the island has survived, rebuilt and moved forward. There will be more storms in the future, but will the island and its residents be ready?  

Stay safe. 

Forest Riggs lives in Galveston. His book, ‘Galveston Memories and Related Stories’ is available at Amazon.com, OutSkirtsPress.com and ForestRiggs.com. 

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