A third of Hurricane Beryl deaths in Texas were caused by heat. Victims' relatives say they should still be alive.
Seven deaths in Texas caused by Hurricane Beryl were the result of heat exposure because of widespread power outages.
Two days after Hurricane Beryl slammed into Texas, Janet and Pamela Jarrett still had no power in the Houston home the sisters shared. A heat advisory was in effect.
They passed the evening playing Pamela’s favorite game, Connect 4. All seemed well enough.
But early the next morning, Janet found Pamela, 64, who was disabled and used a wheelchair, struggling to breathe.
“I heard her heavy breathing, gasping for air,” Janet said. “That’s something that doesn’t leave your mind. It doesn’t go away. Even when I go to sleep and I’m laying there, I hear it. It’s like I’m living it all over again.”
Pamela Jarrett died on July 11 from hyperthermia due to environmental heat exposure.Courtesy Janet JarrettPamela died on the way to the hospital on July 11. Her official cause of death: hyperthermia due to environmental heat exposure.
Rating: 5