Hurricane Beryl death toll climbs to 27, including 15 caused by heat due to massive power outages

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — Two more names have been added to the list of people who died during and after Hurricane Beryl roared ashore in Texas on Monday, July 8.

In a July 24 update from the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences, we’ve learned the death toll in Harris County climbed to 17 with two more names added to the list.

Nearly half of them died of hyperthermia during the massive CenterPoint outages that left millions of people with no power or relief from the heat. Trees were blamed for at least six other deaths.

Here’s what we know about the Beryl victims.

At least eight people, ages 50 to 110, died from hyperthermia due to power outages, according to the Harris County medical examiner’s office.

Wednesday, July 10

Charles Richard Anderson Sr., 76, died in Pasadena.

Candie York, 50, died in Houston.

Oscar Rodriguez, 78, also died in Houston.

Thursday, July 11

Charles Richard Anderson Sr., 76, Pasadena

Bryan Keith Taylor, 66, died in Houston.

Tuesday, July 16

Christine Davis, 110, died in Houston.

RELATED: 110-year-old woman becomes latest reported death from heat due to power outages

Pamela Jarrett, 64, also died of hyperthermia in the Spring home she shared with her sister. 

As the temperature soared,  Janet Jarrett said she did everything she could for her older sibling who used a wheelchair and relied on a feeding tube.

But on their fourth day without power, Janet awoke to hear Pamela gasping for breath. Paramedics were called but she was pronounced dead at the hospital, with the medical examiner saying the heat caused her death.

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

Jarrett, who had 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.

“She had a big personality,” Jarrett said, adding that her sister had been in good health before they lost electricity at their Spring home.

“Pamela brought spirit and joy wherever she went. Her laughter was infectious, her kindness boundless, and her impactful wisdom,” her family said. “She lived her life with passion and generosity, always ready to lend a helping hand or offer a listening ear.”

A GoFundMe.com account has been set up to help her family.

Mark Edward Rutland, 64, died of hyperthermia in Webster when his oxygen concentrator shut off during a power loss. 

Power outages contributed to at least five Beryl deaths in Galveston County, according to Houston Public Media.

Judith Greet, 71, in Crystal Beach

Leroy Lyons, 77, in Galveston

Michael Lahr, 71, in Galveston

David Smith, 64, in Galveston

Rebecca Smith, 62, in Galveston

Local authorities said a person died on the Bolivar Peninsula when the power went out and their breathing machine stopped working.

Charles Yanez, 60, of Bay City died of heatstroke in a home that lost power. He was bed-ridden and paralyzed from the waist down, county spokesperson Mitch Thames told Houston Public Media.

Monday, July 8

Maria Loredo, 73, died when a tree fell through her north Harris County home as Hurricane Beryl slammed Houston.

It happened on Rustic Canyon Trail, which is in a neighborhood just north of FM 1960 and west of the North Freeway.

RELATED: 73-year-old grandmother dies after tree crashes through north Harris Co. home during Hurricane Beryl

Loredo lived at the home with her son, his wife and two grandchildren. They were all there when it happened.

Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Office officials said the tree fell through the roof of Loredo’s room. When family members went to check on her, they weren’t able to get in because of the debris.

First responders told family members that Loredo likely didn’t feel what happened because she was probably asleep.

Her family set up a GoFundMe account to help cover their recovery efforts and funeral expenses.

Jay Michael Taylor, 53, died July 8, 2024, when an oak tree fell on his house.

Taylor was riding out the storm with his family at their home in the Kings River Village subdivision, which is just north of FM 1960 and west of Lake Houston near the Atascocita Golf Club.

RELATED: HCSO: Man riding out Hurricane Beryl in Atascocita killed when tree crashes into home

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said the tree fell on the house, hitting the rafters and then Taylor. His wife and children weren’t hurt.

Three people were killed by trees in Montgomery County, according to County Judge Mark Keough’s office.

A man in his 40s was on a tractor when a tree fell on him, crushing him to death. It happened on Pine Forest Drive, which is in a neighborhood just south of the Grand Parkway and east of US-69. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

RELATED: 3 dead in Montgomery County due to Hurricane Beryl

Two people who appeared to be homeless were found dead in a tent off FM 1774. A man and a woman were inside when a tree fell on them, killing both of them. Officials said they might have been a couple and their ages were unknown.

Friday, July 12

Tomas Fermin Vergara, 59, died after he fell from a ladder while cutting tree limbs in the wake of Beryl. He suffered blunt trauma to his head and torso and also fractured multiple bones.

“I still can’t even wrap my head around it yet,” Felipe Vergara said about his dad’s death.

Tomas’s son Eduardo was in the backyard helping his dad with the cleanup on Friday morning when it happened.

“I heard that he wasn’t breathing. I was on the phone with 9-11. I started CPR but…” Eduardo Vergara said.

Tomas’ wife has a message for everyone.

“Tengan mucho cuidado,” she said.

She wants to tell those who are cutting trees to always be very careful because you never know what could happen.

A GoFundMe.com account has been set up to help his family.

Sunday, July 14

William Correras, 53, died on Sunday, July 14, after he fell while trimming trees, causing multiple blunt-force trauma injuries.

Thursday, July 18

Robert Earl Coats, 66, died while cutting down trees. He was hit by a tree which caused multiple blunt-force trauma injuries.

Douglas Andre Jones, 59, died after he was struck by a large branch while cutting down a tree.

Monday, July 8

Russell Richardson, 54, died Monday, July 8, 2024, while he was on his way to work at the Houston Police Department.

Mayor John Whitmire and acting Houston Police Chief Larry Satterwhite said Richardson was an information security officer with HPD.

RELATED: Houston police employee dies while trying to drive to work during Hurricane Beryl

They said he exited off I-45 and ran into high water at the Houston Avenue underpass. He called friends at HPD, but drowned before help arrived.

Johnny Courtney, 77, drowned on July 8, along North Main Street in Houston’s Near Northside neighborhood.

According to police, the man was driving northbound on a bridge over Little White Oak Bayou when he hit a curb and tried to cross some high water.

Jet was driving his Toyota Corolla when it was overtaken by floodwaters on North Main Street.

“I had called him at 9 (a.m.) asking where he was. I said, ‘Why are you out?’ He said, ‘I’m going to get my car papers signed.’ I said, ‘Well, you can’t do it today, everything is shut down so you need to get home,'” Jet’s wife, Henri Courtney, said.

He was found in his submerged car near where North Main goes over Little White Oak Bayou on the north side of town. Police said the bayou’s current pushed his car against a wall and submerged it.

“When I went to the hospital and actually saw him laying on the bed, I lost it,” Jet’s daughter, Keshin Courtney Thomas, said.

“His family said he was a Marine — a good swimmer. But the floodwaters must have been too strong and risen too fast. They said his phone showed that he called 911 at about 9:45 a.m., but his family isn’t sure what happened after that.

“Jet was a high school football star, a veteran, a musician and even owned a nightclub in Brookshire. But, most importantly to his family, he was a dad, great-grandfather and a husband of 55 years.

A GoFundMe.com account has been set up to help his family.

Sara Elizabeth Elston, 76, drowned when her sailboat sank after being struck by another boat on Clear Lake.