By Baptist Message staff
MANSFIELD, La. (LBM) – Spawning tornadoes, destroying structures and knocking out power, Hurricane Beryl left its mark on Louisiana July 8.
After making landfall earlier in the day as a Category 1 hurricane near Matagorda, Texas, Beryl made its way north with its outer bands scraping Louisiana causing destruction and flooding.
The storm prompted the National Weather Service to issue nearly 70 tornado warnings in the region throughout the day.
Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief Disaster Relief Associate/Volunteer Mobilizer Mark Morelock said teams were assessing damage Tuesday morning.
Beulah Baptist Church, Mansfield, was among the structures damaged. Though the church itself was heavily damaged, no one was injured. Pastor Freddie Williford said the church, which had insurance, plans to move forward and rebuild.
KTBS-TV reported downed trees and power lines in Pleasant Hill; and damage to structures at Jolly Rogers Marina on Toledo Bend, various parts of Sligo, the 2700 block of Bellevue Road in Haughton, and the Shady Park Mobile Home Park in Haughton.
Two elderly people in southwest Caddo Parish sustained injuries after their mobile home was torn from its foundation, KTBS said.
Bossier Parish Sheriff Julian Whittington said in a Facebook post that a 31-year-old woman died after a tree fell on her mobile home in Benton. The storm also was responsible for the deaths of seven in Texas, accuweather.com reported.
In all, 19 are known to have lost their lives due to Beryl.
More than 2.6 million homes and businesses in Texas and more than 20,000 in Louisiana were still without power Tuesday morning.
Wind gusts of 94 mph were reported in Freeport, 86 mph in Matagorda City, 85 mph in Galveston, 84 mph at Houston Hobby Airport and 79 mph at Houston Intercontinental Airport, the National Weather Service said.
Beryl became the earliest Category 5 hurricane on record, shortly after its winds hit 160 mph on July 1. The previous record was when Emily reached Category 5 status on July 16, 2005.
The Baptist Paper, a publication of The Alabama Baptist Media Group that partners with other state Baptist publications, reported that Send Relief, the compassion arm of the International Mission Board and North American Mission Board, planned to deliver a truck load of water and that the Southern Baptists of Texas Disaster Relief were to deploy a mobile kitchen and feeding team to Wharton, Texas. Texans on Mission also planned to deploy a mobile kitchen and feeding team to the Houston area.
Both teams will be partnering with The Salvation Army and look to provide meals to those in need on Tuesday, the Baptist Paper said.
