Houston CRE Takes Another Hit from Beryl 🌪️💥

July 12, 2024•3 min read

Houston CRE Takes Another Hit from Beryl 🌪️💥

Hurricane Beryl pummeled the Houston area Monday, cutting off power to millions and claiming at least two lives. This was the second major storm to hit the city, following a freak derecho in mid-May that caused billions in damages. Just as the commercial real estate industry was beginning to recover, Beryl delivered another devastating blow.

🚧 Numerous roads were flooded and closed, transformers were blown out, and trees and utility poles were toppled. Swaths of Downtown Houston and other areas were submerged, signaling a lengthy and expensive cleanup at the beginning of a hurricane season that will last through November. 🌧️🏢

🗣️ Harris County Sheriff's Office reported that parts of Downtown Houston were underwater after the second powerful storm in two months. "Please, Houstonians, anyone who can hear my voice: Shelter in place," Houston Mayor John Whitmire urged during an 11 a.m. Monday news conference. "We’re in an emergency. We’re in rescue mode."

📉 As of late afternoon, scattered reports of damage to commercial property began to surface on social media, though officials were still assessing the chaos. Communications were limited due to major disruptions with internet companies such as AT&T and Xfinity.

💥 Windows were shattered at 24 Greenway Plaza, gas station canopies caved in, and Chron.com reported possible damage to the NRG Stadium roof. ABC13 had to broadcast via Facebook for the first time in history due to storm damage and outages.

🌬️ Beryl was downgraded to a tropical storm as it moved inland toward Houston after making landfall as a Category 1 hurricane near Matagorda Bay just before 4 a.m. Monday. Sadly, two people died after trees fell on their homes, Harris County officials announced. The hurricane also claimed at least 12 lives in the Caribbean, according to Caribbean National Weekly.

⚡ Beryl brought intense wind gusts, confirmed up to 91 mph, less than two months after Houston encountered an unexpected derecho. The May 16 storm had winds over 100 mph, shattering thousands of windows in Downtown skyscrapers. Beryl likely worsened the damage from that $5B to $8B storm, which was expected to take months to fully clean up.

🚢 Port Houston paused operations Monday and will remain closed Tuesday, reported the Houston Chronicle. About 16,500 CenterPoint crews are set to begin restoration operations for more than 2.1 million customers as soon as possible, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo stated in a video on social media platform X. She also urged people to stay inside and away from windows until the threat of falling trees passed.

💼 The storm was a major headache for real estate players in Houston, even those who suffered limited damages. "After a dead business week with the 4th of July holiday in the middle of the week, Houston didn’t need a hurricane on Monday," Colliers Senior Vice President Coy Davidson, also known online as The Tenant Advisor, posted. "What I am most frustrated about besides not having power is another lost couple of days of productivity. I am trying, but the vast portion of my client base is Houston-based."

⏳ The eye of the storm passed through Houston by around 10 a.m. The full impact of flooding remains unclear, as intermittent rain and windy conditions are expected through Monday evening, according to the Houston Chronicle weather team.

Stay safe, Houston! 💪🏽❤️ #HoustonStrong #TropicalStormBeryl #CRERecovery #StaySafeHouston #HurricaneSeason #RealEstate #HoustonNews #WeatherAlert

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Bill Rapp - Commercial & Residential Mortgage Broker

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