Storm Beryl kills 3 in Texas, knocks out power to almost 3 million

Tropical Storm Beryl has slammed into Texas, knocking out power to nearly 3 million homes and businesses and unleashing heavy rains that prompted dozens of high-water rescues.

Texas state and local officials warned on Monday it could take several days to restore power after Beryl came ashore as a Category 1 hurricane and toppled ten transmission lines and knocked down trees that took down power lines.

Within hours, Beryl had weakened into a tropical storm, far less powerful than the Category 5 behemoth that tore a deadly path of destruction through parts of Mexico and the Caribbean last weekend.

But the winds and rains of the fast-moving storm were still powerful enough to knock down hundreds of trees that had already been teetering in water-saturated earth, and strand dozens of cars on flooded roadways. As it moved inland, the storm still threatened to spawn tornados.

"We're not past any difficult conditions," said Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, who is acting governor while Governor Greg Abbott is out of the country, warning it would be a "multiple-day process to get power restored."

Houston took a hard hit as CenterPoint Energy reported more than 2 million homes and businesses without power in and around the nation's fourth-largest city.

Patrick said the company was bringing in thousands of additional workers to restore power, with top priority for places such as nursing homes and assisted living centres.

Wrecking-havoc in Caribbean

The earliest storm to develop into a Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic, Beryl caused at least 11 deaths as it passed through the Caribbean on its way to Texas.

The storm ripped off doors, windows and roofs with devastating winds and storm surge fueled by the Atlantic's record warmth.

Three times during the week, Beryl gained 56 kph in wind speed in 24 hours or less, the official weather service definition of rapid intensification.

Beryl's explosive growth into an unprecedented early whopper of a storm indicates the hot water of the Atlantic and Caribbean and what the Atlantic hurricane belt can expect for the rest of the storm season, experts said.

In Jamaica, officials said on Monday that island residents will have to contend with food shortages after Beryl destroyed over $6.4 million in crops and supporting infrastructure.