Houstonians sleep in cars amid power outages after Hurricane Beryl

HOUSTON, Texas – As the sweltering heat continues, Houstonians are turning their frustrations on the lack of… CenterPoint Energy has announced it will transfer power to the local utility, which is under increasing scrutiny for its slow response after Hurricane Beryl hit the Texas Gulf Coast earlier this week.

More than 800,000 customers remained without power as of Friday afternoon, more than four days after a tornado flooded streets and left more than 2 million people without air conditioning as temperatures soared into the 90s.

“It’s ridiculous, we’re sleeping in hot rooms,” said Houston resident Ruth Gonzalez, who took cold showers to sleep at night.

She blames the utility company and the storm for this week’s disruptions.

“What are you going to do for us, and how are we going to get compensation for everything we’re losing?” I asked of the Point Center, referring to the $600 worth of food they’d thrown away since the storm.

Gonzalez, along with her 56-year-old fiancé, Jay Vasquez, pawned their diamond wedding rings this week just to buy gas and food.

“You have to do what you have to do to keep the kids fat and full,” Vasquez said, referring to the three grandchildren they help raise.

The storm has killed at least 11 people in the United States and nine in the Caribbean. At least three people were killed in the Houston metropolitan area, weather officials said.

Despite the public outcry, Darren Carroll, senior vice president of operations at CenterPoint, told NBC News this week that the utility company was prepared for the storm and had brought in crews from outside Houston to mobilize once the storm passed.

“We know what it must be like to live in Texas in July and not have power,” he said during the interview, adding that this is the fastest power restoration ever to about a million homes.

More than 80 percent of affected customers are expected to have power and electricity back on by Sunday, CenterPoint Energy said in a news release Thursday.

However, there are some areas with Major structural damage Power grids could face prolonged outages as crews work to install thousands of new distribution poles and overhead conductors, which are essential to transmit electricity.

The storm “hit the entire service territory with full force,” Carroll said, with fallen trees knocking down power lines throughout the city.

“In many cases, it’s not just branches, it’s entire trees that need to be cleaned up before we can do restoration,” he said.

Reforms can’t come soon enough. Rosa M. Zelaya, 53, of Humble, Texas, a city just outside Houston, has been without power since the storm made landfall on Monday.

And for the past few nights, she said she has been sleeping in her truck with her two children.

“It’s horrible because we don’t have anything. We need food and water,” said Zelaya, who was sweating through her blue dress on Friday morning. The temperature outside was about 85 degrees Fahrenheit at the time, but she spent most of the morning inside where temperatures were higher. “At least the truck has air.”

Ronald Thompson, 61, of northeast Houston, said he was staying at his church, where the air conditioning and inflatable mattress helped him relax.

He also claims that CenterPoint should bear its share of the blame for his living arrangements.

“There has to be improvements because our bills are due at the end of the month, and I can’t go home,” Thompson said.

Tensions have been rising throughout the week. On Wednesday, the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call about a man threatening to shoot CenterPoint employees.

“Hurry up and do your job or I will shoot your truck,” the man told the workers, according to deputies.

Police arrested the man on charges of making terrorist threats and deadly behaviour.

And on a concrete wall along Interstate 10, someone spray-painted the slogan “CenterPointless,” according to NBC affiliate KPRC-TV in Houston.

Acting Gov. Dan Patrick said at a news conference this week that Gov. Greg Abbott has called for an investigation into CenterPoint’s response to the storm, noting that the consequences will be determined by the Public Utilities Commission.

Hospitals are overwhelmed and the lines for food are long.

Dangerously high temperatures this week have led to an increase in emergency calls and heat-related visits, with some local hospitals relying on generators.

The storm also worsened the health of Vasquez, the man who sold his engagement ring, who lives with a pacemaker and suffers from respiratory problems.

“When I’m in the room at home I can’t even breathe,” he said.

He was among hundreds of people who lined up in their cars Friday to get ice and food such as fried chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans at a Walmart near downtown.

The hot meals were provided by Tyson Foods, which planned to serve 5,000 dishes per day over the next few days.

However, the distribution of meals was not without controversy.

Cleveland Jackson, who uses a wheelchair, said he was refused food because he was not sitting in the car when he ordered the dish.

“They wouldn’t let me go up and get any food,” said Jackson, 58, of southeast Houston. “I was made to feel unwanted, like I didn’t mean anything.” Two others said they had the same experience.

Tyson Foods spokeswoman Kate Powell said she initially thought Jackson had received a plate, but later realized he hadn’t and offered him one.

“Waiting for the lights to come back on”

In some parts of Houston, life Things were going on as usual. Many people went to work. The streets were busy with traffic and the grocery aisles were crowded, though that was partly due to the storm.

But the impact the hurricane had on local residents cannot be underestimated. Those with the financial means retreated to hotel rooms to wait out the aftermath. Those who could not were left to sleep in cars or in suffocating homes.

Michael Stavinha, a 40-year-old real estate developer who lives part-time in Houston, has spent about $1,500 on hotel stays since the storm hit. He said he will likely continue to pay rent because his home’s power may not be restored until next week.

“He said all the hotels I had to stay in were $350 a night, and finding a place to stay is crazy because everything is so expensive and fully booked.”

Jessica Shaw, 35, of northwest Houston, was not so lucky.

Tired of sleeping in her apartment in “unbearable heat,” she reluctantly decided to stay in her car with her three children Wednesday night.

“I turned on the air conditioner but didn’t get much sleep because it was so dark outside and it was a safety hazard,” said Shaw, whose power was briefly restored on Thursday before going out again on Friday.

Beryl also angered holidaymakers passing through town.

Martin Castro Monoc was traveling from Louisville, Kentucky, to Veracruz, Mexico, on Sunday, but missed his scheduled flight in Houston by three minutes. He rescheduled his flight for Monday, but not before the hurricane hit.

He was paying $100 cash a night to stay in a hotel that didn’t allow access to his computer system. “Everything that could go wrong has happened, it’s very uncomfortable,” said Monuck, 39.

Robert Perez, who was sitting on a milk crate under a large tree Thursday evening trying to cool himself, said he felt helpless and at the mercy of CenterPoint to restore power to his apartment.

Despite the high temperatures outside, he said it was better than the sweltering heat inside his apartment. “I don’t understand why people don’t fix this,” said Perez, a southwest Houston resident, expressing his frustration with the utility company.

And then there were those who couldn’t wait for the nightmare to end.

“I did nothing but wait for the lights to come back on,” said Zelaya, who is trying to find any way possible to avoid the heat.