(Reuters) -Tropical Storm Beryl’s howling winds and torrential rain killed a minimum of two individuals, closed oil ports, grounded tons of of flights and knocked out energy to greater than 2 million properties and companies in southeast Texas on Monday.

Beryl, the season’s earliest Class 5 hurricane on document, weakened from a hurricane after pounding the coastal Texas city of Matagorda with harmful storm surges and heavy rain earlier than transferring throughout Houston, the U.S. Nationwide Hurricane Heart (NHC) mentioned.

The storm, which was anticipated to quickly weaken because it moved inland, swept a harmful path via Jamaica, Grenada, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines final week. It has killed a minimum of 12 individuals within the Caribbean and Texas.

In Texas, a 53-year-old man and a 74-year-old lady had been killed in two incidents by bushes that fell on their properties within the Houston space on Monday, in line with Harris County officers.

The state’s power trade, the nation’s greatest producer of U.S. oil and , braced for Beryl’s influence because the highly effective storm slowed refining exercise and prompted the evacuation of some manufacturing websites.

“Life-threatening storm surge and heavy rainfall is ongoing across portions of Texas. Damaging winds ongoing along the coast, with strong winds moving inland,” the NHC mentioned whilst Beryl started to lose energy.

Following warnings that it may very well be a lethal storm for communities in its path, residents had rushed to board up home windows and inventory up on gas and different important provides.

Earlier than dawn, robust gusts and torrential rain lashed cities and cities equivalent to Galveston, Sargent, Lake Jackson and Freeport, tv footage confirmed. By late morning, many fallen bushes blocked roads in Houston because the worst of the storm handed, with persisting winds and a few street flooding, rendering lanes on main freeways impassable. The town barricaded flooded areas.

In video posted on social media by Houston’s native ABC station, crews utilizing a life jacket and ladder fireplace truck rescued a person from a truck on a flooded stretch of freeway.

In a late morning press convention, Houston Mayor John Whitmire urged individuals to shelter in place. He famous that flood waters exceeded 10 inches (25 cm) throughout a lot of the metropolis.

“We’re literally getting calls across Houston right now asking for first responders to come rescue individuals in desperate life safety conditions,” Whitmire said.

The storm had strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane as it crossed the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico before making landfall. But the NHC said it was now expected to weaken rapidly as it moves across land, as hurricanes typically do, before becoming a tropical depression on Tuesday.

Beryl was expected to barrel over eastern parts of the state through the day before moving into the Lower Mississippi Valley and the Ohio Valley on Tuesday and Wednesday, the NHC said.

“Individuals within the path of Beryl’s observe mustn’t let their guard down this week,” Accuweather mentioned in a press release, warning of doable tornadoes as far-off as Ohio and doable flash flooding as far north as Detroit.

President Joe Biden is being frequently up to date in regards to the storm whereas administration officers stay in shut contact with state and native counterparts, a White Home official mentioned.

The Federal Emergency Administration Company (FEMA) and the U.S. Coast Guard had prepositioned workers to help with search and rescue efforts, with FEMA additionally readied with water, meals and mills to spice up native response efforts, in line with the Biden administration.

Colleges mentioned they might shut because the storm approached. Airways canceled greater than 1,300 flights, and officers ordered a smattering of evacuations in seashore cities. Small companies in Houston, together with package deal supply providers and chiropractors, delayed openings or had been closed on Monday.

Greater than 2 million properties and companies in Texas have misplaced energy, in line with native utilities and PowerOutage.us knowledge.

A number of counties in southeastern Texas — together with Houston, the place many U.S. power corporations are headquartered — are below a flash-flood warning as thunderstorms unleashed up to just about 12 inches (30 cm) of rain in some areas.

Resident Gary Quick mentioned he was most involved about doable flooding, which the NHC warned was anticipated throughout components of Texas into Monday night time.

“I’m more worried about the rain than anything,” he mentioned as he stuffed up cans with gasoline at a service station on Sunday. “Other than that, not too concerned. Just getting ready.”

Closures of main oil-shipping ports round Corpus Christi, Galveston and Houston forward of the storm may disrupt exports, together with shipments of crude to refineries and motor gas from the crops.

Some oil producers, together with Shell (LON:) and Chevron (NYSE:), evacuated personnel from their Gulf of Mexico offshore manufacturing platforms forward of the storm.

Marathon Petroleum Corp (NYSE:)’s refinery in Texas Metropolis, Texas was hit by an influence interruption on Monday amid the storm, the corporate mentioned in a press release.