Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo is calling for more volunteers to help assist with clean up following Hurricane Beryl.

Current situation

Hurricane Beryl hit the Texas coast July 8 and left the region and its surrounding communities with billions of dollars worth of damage.

The Category 1 hurricane produced 90 mph winds in some areas and, according to CenterPoint Energy, the high wind speeds caused several trees to be uprooted resulting in damage to homes and power lines.

Over 2 million CenterPoint Energy customers lost power during the storm. Paul Lock, manager of local government relations at CenterPoint Energy, said June 12 that about 80% of all customers are expected to have power restored by July 14.

However, approximately 500,000 residents will not have power restored until next week.

“The remaining customers are going to be the hardest hit,” Lock said. “Customers that have trees down—it’s not a quick fix. We just ask for their continued patience and we ask that if you do go out and try to cut your trees down to please be careful. Watch for downed power lines.”

In Harris County, Hidalgo said over 4,400 homes were damaged due to Hurricane Beryl and about 200 trees were knocked down.

Lend a hand

Hidalgo put out a call to action during a July 12 news conference asking for capable Houstonians and Texans to help volunteer to cut down trees and assist with post-storm clean up.

“We need volunteers,” she said. “The truth of the matter is, is that ... we just simply don’t have enough resources and trained people to be able to do it all alone right now.”

Volunteers are needed to remove trees, tarp roofs and pick up debris. She said volunteers can be skilled or unskilled.

Individual volunteers are urged to visit Volunteer Houston or call 211. Nonprofit organizations or groups can register to volunteer at www.crisiscleanup.org.

The Texas Gulf Coast Regional Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster will help assess and organize all volunteers.

For more ways to volunteer or donate, check out Community Impact’s list of how to help Texans affected by Hurricane Beryl.