US: Tropical Storm Beryl moves through Texas

Beryl made landfall as a hurricane near the Texan town of Matagorda early Monday morning local time, but then weakened to a tropical storm. Matagorda is located some 130 kilometers (80.7 miles) southwest of the Texan metropolis Houston.

The hurricane brought strong winds and heavy rainfall to Texas and caused considerable damage. The state's southeastern region was particularly affected. This image, captured by a drone, shows the massive destruction of a house in Surfside Beach, a small coastal town in Brazoria County.

Millions of people in Texas are still without power as Tropical Storm Beryl continues to move through the US state. It will probably take several days to restore power to the two to three million households affected, said the chairman of an operating company.

The death toll has risen to five so far. One person died after a lightning strike possibly triggered a fire, said John Whitmire, the mayor of Houston. The city, home to over two million inhabitants, saw streets flooded and power lines downed after Beryl struck on Monday. One death was also recorded in the state of Louisiana.

In Jasper County, along the Texan border with the state of Louisiana, a tornado destroyed about three dozen houses. The US National Hurricane Center has warned of further tornadoes, flash floods and strong winds for parts of Texas and Louisiana.

There is still a risk of life-threatening storm surges on the Gulf Coast in Texas, and people are being cautioned to beware of strong currents. According to meteorologists, Beryl is expected to move northeast in the coming days, and continue to lose strength as it goes.

The hurricane had already caused severe destruction in Venezuela, various Caribbean islands and Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula in recent days. Beryl is the first Category 5 hurricane of the season. This is the highest classification on what is known as the Saffir-Simpson scale, which measures wind speeds and ranks them by the damage they're expected to cause.