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Harris County: Disaster Recovery Centers Now Open and Beryl Recovery Fund

The Harris County Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management (HCOHSEM) continues to support and coordinate recovery efforts following Beryl. As recovery efforts continue, more resources have become available for residents impacted by Beryl. 

FEMA Resources 

Residents can begin the application process by visiting FEMA’s web page at www.disasterassistance.gov, calling 800-621-FEMA (3362), or downloading the FEMA app. For additional information about FEMA’s disaster assistance resources and Individual Assistance program, visit www.disasterassistance.gov

After Texans apply for disaster assistance, FEMA may call them to schedule an inspection of the damaged home or to obtain more information to process the application. These calls may come from unfamiliar area codes or phone numbers.

It is important to answer the call. A FEMA inspection may be required to determine whether a home is safe, sanitary, functional, and accessible. If an inspection cannot be scheduled, that may cause a delay in FEMA’s review of the application.

There is no charge for an inspection. The inspector will have FEMA photo ID and the application number. FEMA representatives never ask for money.

If you receive a call from someone saying they are a FEMA representative, but you aren’t sure, call the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362 to verify the caller’s identity.

In collaboration with FEMA and SBA, HCOHSEM has developed a Frequently Asked Questions video to assist residents with their respective recovery processes. For additional information about the FEMA application process, visit the Beryl Resources Recovery page at www.readyharris.org.

Disaster Recovery Center Locations

Disaster Recovery Centers (DRC) and Business Recovery Centers (BRC) have opened across Harris County and more will open in the days ahead. For a complete and up-to-date list of DRC and BRC locations and hours of operations, visit the Beryl Recovery Resources page at www.readyharris.org or visit the ReadyHarris Disaster Recovery Centers and Business Recovery Centers map

If you have applied for FEMA assistance and received an ineligibility letter, residents are encouraged to visit a DRC. FEMA representatives are located at DRC locations and can help answer questions about your application status, apply or reapply for individual assistance, and may provide referrals to agencies that offer other assistance. 

Small Business Administration Disaster Assistance Loans

Harris County residents impacted by Beryl are eligible to apply for U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Disaster Loans.

The SBA offers disaster assistance in the form of low-interest loans to businesses, nonprofit organizations, homeowners, and renters located in regions affected by declared disasters. SBA also provides eligible small businesses and nonprofit organizations with working capital to help overcome the economic injury of a declared disaster.

Applicants may apply online, receive additional disaster assistance information, and download applications at disasterloanassistance.sba.gov. Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance. For people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

The deadline to apply for loans to repair property damage is September 10, 2024, and economic injury is April 14, 2025. 

Hurricane Beryl Recovery Fund

In partnership with the City of Houston and Harris County leaders, and the Greater Houston Disaster Alliance’s (GHDA) Disaster Recovery Council, a Hurricane Beryl Recovery Fund has opened. Residents can donate to help vulnerable, underinsured, and insured populations in Harris County who were impacted by Beryl. For more information about the Hurricane Beryl Recovery Fund, donation opportunities, and other ways to assist, visit the GHDA website.  

Volunteer Opportunities

Volunteer Houston

If you are interested in volunteer opportunities, many residents are in need of assistance cleaning up their home and their yards. Additionally, food distribution sites across the county are calling for volunteers. 

Any individual who would like to volunteer to assist can register by visiting www.volunteerhou.org/disaster or by calling 211.

Crisis Cleanup

If your group (company, school, church, etc.) would like to volunteer, visit www.crisiscleanup.org/register to register your organization.If you need assistance with damage clean up, you can call the home cleanup hotline at 979-217-3791. Crisis Cleanup will connect you with volunteers from local relief organizations that may be able to assist with cutting fallen trees, tarping roofs, and more.

All but about 130K Beryl-impacted CenterPoint power customers restored a week after storm

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — After beginning Monday with about 240,000 outages, CenterPoint Energy had yet to restore about 132,000 customers during the evening.

The company also gave an update on when all impacted customers would have their lights back on after Hurricane Beryl: Friday, July 19, some 11 days after the Category 1 storm made landfall.

As of 8:30 p.m. Monday, 92% of impacted customers were restored. About 98% should be restored by the end of Wednesday, CenterPoint added.

The company also cautioned about damage to customer-owned, specifically weatherheads, the point where power enters the home through an electric service drop, which is often a pipe located on the side of the residence or building.

“If the weatherhead is damaged, crews cannot safely restore service to the home until a licensed electrician has made the necessary repairs. Customers who are served by an underground service will not have a weatherhead, but there may still be damage to their equipment that could require servicing,” CenterPoint warned.

A weeklong wait continues

It has been the same tune for many families in the seven days since the storm, with households growing impatient that their lights and air conditioning remained off.

ABC13 viewers told Eyewitness News Houston’s Third Ward is one of those neighborhoods.

On the CenterPoint outage tracker,the company labels the area as energized with potential localized outages, otherwise categorized as nested outages.

The term should sound familiar. Eyewitness News reported it recently after May’s derecho when CenterPoint had outages three times smaller than Beryl.

SEE MORE: ‘The clock is ticking’: Abbott requests investigation into CenterPoint Energy’s response to Beryl

Just like May’s report, CenterPoint Energy explained what’s happening in a statement Monday:

“There might be several reasons why some customers may have their power restored while others nearby are still without power. One reason could be a ‘nested outage.’ A nested outage occurs when, even after fixing the main issue, other isolated issues, such as damage to fuses, transformers, meters, electric lines, or other electric infrastructure, cause continued outages in specific areas. These secondary issues can arise from unseen damage or overloaded systems.

Another reason could be that customers on the same street or neighborhood might be on different electric circuits. Customers on different circuits can experience varied restoration times because each circuit may have different levels of damage or may be repaired in a different sequence. This means that while one circuit is fully restored, another might still be undergoing repairs.

The restoration map reflects a circuit-level outage. Therefore, a customer who is still out on a circuit showing green might be experiencing a more localized issue. Customers enrolled in Power Alert Service are receiving individual restoration alerts as their power is restored. We continue to assess our system and update the information regularly.

A circuit-level outage generally includes locations with more than 100 customers impacted. If your grocery stores, streetlights and surrounding neighborhoods are without power, the problem may be at the circuit level.”

CenterPoint said it’s directing 14,000 crew members on 16-hour shifts to work on restoration.

“These crews have walked more than 8,500 miles of electric lines, removed nearly 19,000 weakened trees impacting lines, repaired or replaced more than 2,100 poles, and deployed 28 mobile generation units to temporarily restore to cooling centers, hospitals, senior living facilities, and water treatment plants,” the company said.

Despite the effort, some ABC13 viewers said the company told them power would remain off until Friday.

Houston’s Hurricane Beryl death toll reaches 13, official numbers pending with more deaths expected

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HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — It could be weeks before we get a complete picture of the deaths caused by Hurricane Beryl.

At least 13 people in the Houston area are believed to have died as a result of the dangerous hurricane, and many are afraid more people will die in the coming days as residents continue to struggle with power outages and damage.

Multiple agencies track storm deaths, but the final number will come from the medical examiner, who will look at several factors.

The Shaw family has been without power since Beryl hit last Monday.

ABC13 was there Saturday as the family surrounded 89-year-old Mary Shaw.

Even under a nurse’s care, Mary died the next morning.

“Her body was so hot. I just started putting wet towels, ice, putting it on her, putting it around her,” her daughter, Monica Shaw, said.

“We called for her to be moved to facilities,” added her other daughter, Lisa Shaw. “Facilities were full, so we couldn’t even take her anywhere.”

Mary had suffered from dementia and heart disease for years.

Her family may never know what impact, if any, the heat had on her health.

All they know for sure is that she died in discomfort, hot, and panicked.

“My mom is gone, but I’m going to live in the strength that she has because that’s what she instilled in her kids,” Lisa said. “Reminds me of the ‘Old Lady and the Shoe.’ She had six kids of her own, she raised six across the street, she has another adopted son down the street and an adopted daughter that’s been in our life for almost 45 years.”

The close-knit family is now worried about the health of other relatives and neighbors as they all go into their second week without power.

“They forgot about us, but they don’t forget to get paid every month,” niece Kimberly Rubit said. “I’ve never missed my bill, so yes, I’m blaming them.”

READ MORE: 89-year-old woman unconscious for days due to heat in northeast Houston, family says

Houston restaurants file class action lawsuit against CenterPoint Energy amidst Hurricane Beryl power outages

In the wake of Hurricane Beryl, Houston’s food-and-beverage industry has been significantly impacted by ongoing power outages. Some operators have resorted to parking lot pop-ups and other quick fixes to pay their rent and staff. Houston lawyer Tony Buzbee, who suffered his own Beryl-related loss, is spearheading a class action lawsuit against CenterPoint Energy on behalf of several Houston restaurants.

Buzbee announced on Instagram that his firm is filing the lawsuit due to CenterPoint’s repeated failures to “do what any reasonable and competent electricity provider would do and should do.” He stated that the restaurants involved, some of the most celebrated and revered in the Houston Galveston area, have lost substantial time and money due to “negligence and gross negligence,” including inadequate equipment maintenance, insufficient personnel training, and a lack of a competent storm plan.

“All of the restaurants suing lost power initially as a result of Hurricane Beryl, but that loss inexplicably continued due to the incompetence and utter dereliction of CenterPoint Energy,” Buzbee said. “The problems at CenterPoint continue, and likely will continue, despite the accusations and condemnation from all levels of government. The restaurants filing this case, and the class of plaintiffs they seek to represent, are fed up. None of us in this area has a choice as to who provides us electricity.”

Highlighting CenterPoint’s 2023 profits of $6.54 billion and its monopoly in the Houston area, Buzbee emphasized that the lawsuit aims to compel CenterPoint to improve its services. “This lawsuit is being filed not for the want of money, but to force CenterPoint in court to do what the administrative, legislative, and executive system has failed to require.”

Restaurant owners, such as Ryan Lachaine of Riel Restaurant in Montrose, have voiced their frustration. Lachaine’s business was without power for a week, leaving his 20 employees unable to work. “Restaurants are difficult at the best of times, and when something like this happens, it is absolutely devastating,” Lachaine said. “We all knew this was going to happen, something was going to happen. And it’s kind of frustrating when we’re supposed to be ready all the time, and hunker down or do this or do that, and when it comes time for someone else to do their job, nobody’s ready.”

Robin Wong, owner of Luloo’s in Garden Oaks, echoed this sentiment. “Being a city that’s as large as Houston is, we can’t keep having these problems. It needs to be fixed,” Wong said. “Losing power in these storms just long enough to lose all the food in your walk-in is just enough to where you have to start over.”

Buzbee explained that the lawsuit will focus on restaurants that have been in business for over a year and lost power for at least 48 hours. “CenterPoint doesn’t know their grid,” Buzbee said. “They have clearly not invested in infrastructure to prevent things like this.”

The restaurateurs involved stress that they are not seeking a handout but can no longer endure the status quo without speaking out. “Being a small business owner,” Lachaine added, “we’re kind of sick of being pushed around.”

ABC13 has reached out to CenterPoint for a response to these claims and will update the story once the company responds. Buzbee mentioned that a file-stamped copy of the lawsuit will be distributed publicly once available.

Governor Abbott demands answers from CenterPoint after Hurricane Beryl power outages

Texas Governor Greg Abbott toured NRG Arena on Monday to assess the 250 beds established for Houstonians who have been discharged from area hospitals but lack a safe place to stay following Hurricane Beryl.

The state set up the operation at NRG Arena to ensure healthcare access and provide ready-made meals, water, ice, and shelter for those who lost power during the storm.

With Houston Mayor John Whitmire by his side, Abbott emphasized Texas’s commitment to assisting residents directly impacted by the storm and those still without power. Abbott also addressed the response from CenterPoint Energy, expressing his dissatisfaction and demanding answers.

“If CenterPoint does not respond to my request, I will be issuing an executive order imposing, what I think, are the appropriate standards,” Abbott stated. “The standards I want to impose on CenterPoint would be far more costly than what they may be coming up with. If they don’t comply with my request, we’re going to completely re-evaluate the current status of CenterPoint in our area.”

On Sunday afternoon, Abbott criticized CenterPoint for its failures in restoring power to Houstonians and the broader area. “The failure of power companies to provide power to their customers is completely unacceptable,” Abbott said.

Back in the state after an economic trade mission to Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan, Abbott joined Lt. Governor Dan Patrick at a news conference Sunday afternoon at Gallery Furniture. He stressed the ongoing hurricane season and the necessity for CenterPoint to address key issues to prevent future power outages.

“I will give CenterPoint until July 31st to provide my office with specific actions they will take to improve power reliability,” Abbott announced. He outlined several demands, including the removal of vegetation threatening power lines and the pre-staging of sufficient workers to address power outages immediately.

Governor Abbott made it clear that the state would reassess CenterPoint’s presence in Texas if these demands are not met. Lt. Governor Dan Patrick added that hearings would take place next month in Austin to investigate the prolonged power outages in Houston.

“A freight train is coming,” Patrick warned. “You better be prepared.”

Trump picks JD Vance as 2024 running mate

Former President Donald Trump has picked Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate, placing a young, ideological ally alongside him on the Republican 2024 ticket.

Trump announced Vance would be his running mate on Monday, writing on Truth Social that the Ohio Republican is “the person best suited to assume the position of Vice President of the United States.”

The decision caps off months of speculation and sees Trump elevate a 39-year-old first-term senator whose roughly year and a half tenure in the Senate has seen him emerge as a staunch ideological ally of the former president.

MORE: The rise of JD Vance: From ‘never-Trump guy’ to potential VP pick

Sen. JD Vance speaks to reporters in the spin room following the CNN Presidential Debate between President Joe Biden and Republican presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump, June 27, 2024, in Atlanta.Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Vance rose to fame through his 2016 book, “Hillbilly Elegy.” He evolved from a “never-Trump guy” to one of Trump’s strongest surrogates in an eight-year span.

Vance was born in Middleton, Ohio, and served in the Marine Corps. He later attended Ohio State University and eventually graduated from Yale Law School.

MORE: Who is JD Vance, the Ohio senator and Trump VP hopeful?

He was a corporate lawyer and then worked in the tech industry as a venture capitalist.

In 2016, Vance released his memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” which shared his story of growing up in poverty in America’s Rust Belt and being surrounded by violence and addiction.https://d-1785231272202427365.ampproject.net/2406131415000/frame.html

Vance eventually became an emissary between the media and those in the Rust Belt during the 2016 election, discussing the issues important to those who had a similar background to him.

During this time, Vance made his disdain for Trump clear, saying he was a “never-Trump guy” in an interview with Charlie Rose in 2016.

MORE: The rise of JD Vance: From ‘never-Trump guy’ to potential VP pick

In August 2016, he told ABC News that he didn’t see Trump “offering many solutions.”

But Vance would eventually align with the former president, praising his time in office and apologizing for his attacks on him during an interview with Fox News in July 2021.

“I’ve been very open about the fact that I did say those critical things, and I regret them, and I regret being wrong about the guy,” Vance said on Fox News in 2021.

His apology came around the same time Vance entered the race for the open Ohio Senate seat, which became one of the most competitive GOP primaries of the 2022 election cycle. Trump endorsed Vance for the job, which helped him win both the primary election and general election against Ohio Democrat Tim Scott.

In his role as senator, some of his most notable work has been responding to the East Palestine train derailment in his home state. He has also stayed true to his tough conservative brand, including opposing aid to Ukraine.

In 2024, Vance has been a reliable surrogate for Trump — appearing at campaign events, defending him in television appearances and helping the former president raise money for his campaign.

Secret Service director announces changes for Trump security detail

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The U.S. Secret Service has added additional security to former President Donald Trump’s detail ahead of the Republican National Convention, the agency’s director, Kimberly Cheatle, said in a statement on Monday.

“In addition to the additional security enhancements we provided former President Trump’s detail in June, we have also implemented changes to his security detail since Saturday to ensure his continued protection for the convention and the remainder of the campaign,” Cheatle said.

The former president will have additional tactical officers, including SWAT, added to his detail, along with other updates, a law enforcement source told ABC News.

2nd suspect charged with murder in connection with HCSO deputy’s death, sheriff says

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HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) — A second suspect has been arrested and charged for his alleged role in the shooting death of a Harris County Sheriff’s deputy, according to Sheriff Ed Gonzalez.

On Sunday, Gonzalez shared that Dremone Francis was charged with capital murder in connection with the shooting death of Deputy Fernando Esqueda.

ORIGINAL REPORT: Suspect arrested, charged with capital murder, in ambush murder of Harris Co. sheriff’s deputy

Francis’ arrest comes days after 44-year-old Ronald “Ronnie” Palmer Jr. was arrested in the case.

On Wednesday, July 10, officers responded to an aggravated assault call at a Little Ceasars Pizza on Wallisville Road. According to police, the suspect, identified as Palmer, became upset with his order and verbally assaulted and pistol-whipped an employee before fleeing.

The employee then described the suspect’s vehicle, including the license plate, which deputies tracked to an address on the 13200 block of Italian Cypress Road.

Esqueda, one of several deputies working overtime to patrol streets after Hurricane Beryl, responded to the area and notified team members over the phone once he noticed the suspect’s vehicle.

At that point, HCSO said Esqueda was ambushed while speaking with other members and was shot. Officials note that the deputy was in his undercover vehicle at the time, which was riddled with bullet holes.

The deputy, who has been with the department for five years, was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

On Thursday evening in northeast Harris County, Palmer was taken into custody by a fugitive task force without incident at a residence that belonged to an acquaintance of an acquaintance.

He had been there for about two hours and was steadily on the move since the shooting, officials said.

WATCH: Video shows deputy ambush suspect’s surrender in NE Harris Co. neighborhood

Ronald Palmer is seen surrendering in new video hours after Harris County Deputy Fernando Esqueda was killed.

By 11 p.m. that evening, Palmer was charged with capital murder.

Palmer waived his initial court appearance on Friday. As a judge read off charging documents, it was revealed that there was another person with the suspect the night the employee was assaulted.

Palmer is expected to appear in court Monday morning after having his bond set at $100,000.

There is no word on the second suspect’s court appearance.

Argentina wins record 16th Copa America title, beats Colombia 1-0 after Messi gets hurt

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MIAMI, Fla. — Argentina won its second straight Copa America championship, overcoming Lionel Messi’s second-half leg injury to beat Colombia 1-0 Sunday night on Lautaro Martínez’s 112th-minute goal.

Messi appeared to sustain a non-contact injury while running and falling in the 64th minute and covered his face with his hands as he sat on the bench and sobbed.

Martínez later ran to that bench to hug his captain after the goal that propelled Argentina to its record 16th Copa title.

In a match that started 1 hour, 22 minutes late because of crowd trouble at Hard Rock Stadium, Argentina won its third straight major title following the 2021 Copa America and 2022 World Cup and matched Spain, which won the 2008 and 2012 European Championships around the 2010 World Cup.

Argentina also stopped Colombia’s 28-game unbeaten streak dating to a February 2022 loss to the Albiceleste.

Martínez entered in the 97th minute and scored from Giovani Lo Celso’s perfect through pass after Leandro Paredes stripped the ball from a Colombian just short of the center stripe.

Just inside the penalty area, Martínez sent a right-foot shot through the upraised arms of sliding goalkeeper Camilo Vargas for his 29th international goal, his tournament-high fifth.

Appearing to be limping after the final whistle sounded well past midnight, Messi beckoned for his senior teammates to lift the trophy with him: 36-year-old Nicolás Ottamendi and Ángel Di María, who is retiring from the national team.

As white confetti cascaded, the trio hugged.

“The truth is, it’s hard to describe,” Di Maria said. “It was written like that. I told the guys last night at dinner that I dreamt it. That’s why I said it was my last Copa America. I dreamt we made it to the final and we won it so I could go out this way.

“I’ll be always grateful to this generation who gave me everything, helped me win what I always wanted and today, I am leaving like this,” Di Maria said. “It could not be better.”

Making his 39th and possibly last Copa America appearance at age 37, Messi had one goal in the tournament. He went down after an ankle was stepped on in the first half but remained in the game.

The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner looked to the bench as soon as he fell to the field in the second half, appearing to know his tournament was over. He took off his right boot as he walked off and slammed it frustration, and his ankle appeared to swell. With his right foot bare, he stood by the bench and raised his arms while teammates ran onto the field when Martínez scored.

The start was delayed from 8 p.m. EDT to 9:22 p.m. because of crowd control issues outside the stadium, including troves of fans breaching security gates at a venue to be used for the 2026 World Cup.

Days after Uruguay players were involved in a brawl with Colombia fans following their semifinal match in Charlotte, North Carolina, video showed fans climbing fences and railings to get inside the championship match, with officials unable to keep track of who had purchased tickets and who didn’t.

Colombia was more aggressive and forced goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez to make four saves in the first half, but Argentina began to threaten more in the second.

Nicolás Tagliafico thought he scored in the 75th minute but was ruled offside. Nicolás González, who replaced Messi. was stopped by Vargas in the 95th minute.

Numerous players lost their footing during the second half of Sunday’s match. The grass was heavily watered with sprinklers following the halftime performance by Colombian pop star Shakira, which caused an extended halftime break.

Colombia’s James Rodríguez was selected best player of the tournament.

Argentina vs. Colombia live results, highlights, analysis as Copa América final delayed

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Argentina, reigning champions of both the World Cup and the Copa América, and Colombia, unbeaten in 28 matches dating back to 2022, face off Sunday in the final of the 2024 Copa América at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.

The match kicked off about 9:15 p.m. ET after fans rushed the gates and caused a delay to the originally scheduled 8 p.m. start time.

Colombia’s unbeaten streak continued throughout their run to the final with Los Cafeteros going 2-1-0 in the group stage before beating Brazil on penalties, crushing Panama 5-0, and eliminating Uruguay with a 1-0 win in the semifinals. The last team to beat Colombia? Well, that would be Argentina, whose 1-0 win over Colombia in the 2022 South American World Cup qualifiers was part of the reason they didn’t make it to Qatar that year.

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Meanwhile, Argentina’s win helped see them through to the World Cup, which they ultimately won via penalties over France. But it was at the 2021 Copa América when, after 28 barren years, Lionel Messi propelled La Albiceleste to the trophy and on its path of world domination.

Now the two sides meet in a Copa América final for the first time in the tournament’s 108-year history. An Argentina win would secure a record-breaking 16th Copa América trophy while Colombia is looking for just its second championship.

Follow our live blog below for up-to-the-minute updates from the match:

Halftime score: Argentina 0-0 Colombia

  • It’s halftime and it’s 0-0.Remember, halftime is about 25 minutes tonight thanks to a Shakira concert. That could be good news for a limping Lionel Messi. His stride hasn’t been right for the past 12 minutes or so.