Death toll from Hurricane Beryl in the greater Houston area rises to 24, could rise further

The death toll linked to Hurricane Beryl has risen by at least one in the Houston area, and Brazoria County authorities are currently investigating several more cases that could cause the number to rise even higher in the coming days.

According to medical examiners in Harris County, 15 people have died from beryl-related problems, including seven from overheating and three from blunt force trauma while cutting down fallen trees after the storm. Those deaths, along with five from Galveston County, three from Montgomery County and one from Matagorda County, bring the total death toll to 24.

The death toll from the Category 1 hurricane is higher than that of Hurricane Ike in 2008, which was a Category 2 when it made landfall.

Experts have been predicting for weeks that the number will continue to rise as forensic investigators work through their ongoing cases and authorities continue to assess the situation.

For example, Brazoria County officials are reportedly currently investigating two or three deaths linked to Beryl. However, coroners in Galveston County, which performs autopsies with Brazoria, have refused to release the causes of death in those cases, referring the matter to local justices of the peace.

JR Woolley, a Waller County justice of the peace and chairman of the Texas Legislature for the Justices of the Peace and Constables Association, said the process in Brazoria County is no different from the way deaths are investigated in rural counties across the state.

While larger counties have their own medical examiners, smaller counties contract out autopsies to other facilities, Woolley said. However, the final authority on the cause of death rests with county judges, who make their decisions based on the results of the autopsies.

Hurricane Beryl’s deadly path through Texas left many residents without power just before a triple-digit heat index hit the area. State and local authorities have repeatedly said they are investigating CenterPoint’s response to the outages.