Death toll from Hurricane Beryl in Houston rises to 18, latest data shows

The full list from Harris County includes six people who died due to heat exposure during the power outage following the storm and two who fell and died while trimming trees, according to the Institute of Forensic Science, the county’s medical examiner.

Experts and local officials expect the number of storm-related deaths to rise in the coming days and weeks. Forensic experts have already begun to determine the exact number of fatalities.

“Incoming cases are still being reviewed,” Jasmine Jefferson, a spokeswoman for the institute, said in an earlier interview. “A list of confirmed storm-related deaths is now available on our website and will be updated as cases are confirmed.”

Representatives of the Galveston County coroner did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether the number of deaths has increased. They previously released one case they were investigating as storm-related.

In Harris County and the surrounding counties affected by Beryl, multiple agencies are investigating the deaths. They must sort out what is considered a storm death and what is not, which can sometimes be complicated.

Officials in Matagorda County are investigating a death that may be related to the storm, said Mitch Thames, county spokesman. A 60-year-old man was found dead in his Bay City home in the days after the storm. He was paralyzed and bedridden and had no power during the storm. His son visited him several times after the storm to bring him water, but he was found dead of heat stroke, Thames said.

Montgomery County authorities have released few details about the three deaths. An emergency management official said a fallen tree killed a man in his 40s as he was riding his tractor. Two other people were found dead in a tent in a wooded area in Magnolia.

At least eight deaths have been reported in Harris County that may be related to the storm.

Among them is a civilian employee of the Houston Police Department, later identified as Russell Richardson, 54, who was found dead in a submerged car in the floodwaters on Houston Avenue near City Hall. He died as he tried to go to work, officials said.

Fire investigators have concluded that a house fire in Houston that killed a man early Monday morning was likely caused by lightning strikes during the storm.
County authorities were investigating two other deaths, including a 53-year-old man in Humble and a 74-year-old woman in Spring.

A man died after a tree fell on a home in Kings River Village in Humble, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez confirmed.

Gonzalez said the 53-year-old man was sitting at home with his family waiting for the storm to end when an oak tree fell on their roof and a building collapsed on the man.

Gonzalez confirmed another death after a tree fell on 73-year-old Maria Loredo in the 17400 block of Rustic Canyon Trail. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said Loredo, a grandmother, was in her bedroom at the time.