Disaster record
Hurricane Beryl (July 2024) — Texas Gulf Coast
Two years after the disaster 48 deaths $7.2 billion
Summary
Hurricane Beryl made U.S. landfall near Matagorda, Texas, on July 8, 2024, as a Category 1 hurricane. It had already been the earliest Atlantic Category 5 on record. Power went out for millions along the upper Texas coast. Remnants produced flooding in Vermont on July 9 through July 11. Forty-eight people died in the United States.
The National Hurricane Center counts 48 U.S. deaths: 14 direct (11 Texas, 1 Louisiana, 2 Vermont) and 34 indirect, all in Texas. NCEI listed 46. Caribbean deaths stay off.
Scientific attribution
The storm formed over unusually warm Atlantic and Gulf water and became a major hurricane earlier than any other Atlantic storm on record. Scientists said that extra heat can feed hurricanes. That does not mean climate change was the only cause.
Jul 8, 2024 · Matagorda, Texas landfall; Houston-area wind, surge, and outages; remnant flooding in Vermont July 9–11 · hurricane
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Messaging tallies
About these tallies
“Core Democratic Officials reviewed” shows how many of the 53 Core Democratic Officials have been examined for this disaster. Scoring rules: Methods.
Democratic framing
Summary
Two Core Democratic Officials named this storm’s impacts in the seven-day window. Sen. Peter Welch connected the Vermont flooding to climate change. Neither named Republican obstruction of climate action.
Welch named remnants of Hurricane Beryl on the Senate floor on July 10. On July 11, after overnight flooding, he said this is our new reality and that climate change is wreaking havoc on our state. On July 12 he toured Moretown, Plainfield, and Barre.
Sen. Bernie Sanders issued a July 12 statement on this week’s Vermont flood. He named towns, more than 100 rescues, and two deaths. He did not say the name Beryl. The National Hurricane Center counts those deaths on this storm.
Texas has no Democratic U.S. senators. No Core Democratic Official named the Texas landfall. The August 3 Vermont Stafford letter is after noon on July 15.
Statements
- Peter Welch (U.S. Senator (D-VT)) — Jul 12, 2024
- Bernie Sanders (U.S. Senator (I-VT)) — Jul 12, 2024
- Peter Welch (U.S. Senator (D-VT)) — Jul 11, 2024
- Peter Welch (U.S. Senator (D-VT)) — Jul 11, 2024
- Peter Welch (U.S. Senator (D-VT)) — Jul 10, 2024
Republican framing
Sen. John Cornyn spoke on the Senate floor on July 8 after Beryl’s Texas landfall and offered federal disaster relief. Sen. Ted Cruz’s July 9 letter with Cornyn thanked President Biden for the disaster declaration.
Acting Gov. Dan Patrick ran the Texas response while Gov. Greg Abbott was abroad. Abbott’s July 9 office update is in-window Republican relief. Cruz’s July 12 CenterPoint letter is utility accountability, not climate.
Statements
- Ted Cruz (U.S. Senator (R-TX)) — Jul 9, 2024
- John Cornyn (U.S. Senator (R-TX)) — Jul 8, 2024
Sources
- Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters — Hurricane Beryl — NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
- Hurricane Beryl Tropical Cyclone Report — NOAA / National Hurricane Center
- Welch Tours Flood Damage in Moretown, Plainfield, and Barre — Office of U.S. Senator Peter Welch
- Vermont Suffers Another Flood — Office of U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders
- Welch Convenes Rural Development and Energy Subcommittee Hearing on Emergency Response, Recovery, and Resilience — Office of U.S. Senator Peter Welch
- Welch Statement on Flooding Across Vermont — Office of U.S. Senator Peter Welch
- Remarks as Delivered — One-Year Anniversary of Vermont Floods — Office of U.S. Senator Peter Welch
- Hurricane Beryl Disaster Declaration (letter to President Biden) — Office of U.S. Senator Ted Cruz
- Cornyn on Beryl — The Record Newspapers
- Hurricane Beryl makes landfall in Texas as Category 1 storm — AP News
- Hurricane Beryl Advisory Archive — NOAA / National Hurricane Center
- Beryl knocks out power to nearly 3 million in Texas — Associated Press
- VIDEO: Cornyn on Hurricane Beryl — Office of Sen. John Cornyn
- Beryl becomes earliest Category 5 hurricane on record in Atlantic — Reuters