Frustration is mounting that Houston appeared to buckle under a storm not as powerful as previous ones. Officials said Tuesday that wide recovery efforts are underway after Hurricane Beryl left millions still without power as temperatures soar. Officials say restoring power is the No. 1 priority. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says President Joe Biden approved a major disaster declaration. Emergency crews hope to have power restored to an additional 1 million people by the end of the day. Beryl made landfall early Monday as a Category 1 hurricane and has been blamed for at least seven U.S. deaths and 11 in the Caribbean.

Beryl was battering Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula while officials in Texas urged coastal residents to prepare as the storm moves toward the Gulf of Mexico. Beryl hit Mexico near the resort town of Tulum as a Category 2 hurricane but weakened to a tropical storm as it moved across the peninsula. The U.S. National Hurricane Center expects Beryl to regain hurricane strength once it reemerges into the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, where it is forecast to head toward northeastern Mexico and southern Texas. Some Texas counties have already issued voluntary evacuation orders in low-lying areas.

Hurricane Beryl is roaring by Jamaica as islanders scramble to make preparations after the powerful Category 4 storm earlier killed at least six people and caused significant damage in the southeast Caribbean. People in Kingston boarded up windows and fishermen pulled their boats out of the water. Workers dismantled roadside advertising boards to protect them from the lashing winds. A hurricane warning is in effect for Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Little Cayman and Cayman Brac. Beryl is forecast to weaken slightly over the next day or two but still be at or near major-hurricane strength when it passes near or over Jamaica on Wednesday.

Hurricane Beryl is roaring across the Caribbean Sea as a powerful Category 4 storm on a path toward Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. At least six people have died after Beryl slammed the southeast Caribbean. A hurricane warning was in effect for Jamaica and a hurricane watch for Grand Cayman, Little Cayman and Cayman Brac. Beryl is expected to start losing intensity but still to be near major hurricane strength as it passes near or over Jamaica, near the Cayman Islands and into Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. Beryl is the earliest Category 5 storm ever to form in the Atlantic, fueled by record warm waters.

Hurricane Beryl has made landfall on the Caribbean island of Carriacou. The dangerous and powerful Category 4 storm is the earliest one of its strength to form in the Atlantic, fueled by record warm waters. Carriacou is one of the islands of Grenada. Officials there reported damage on Monday that included roofs being blown off in maximum winds increasing to top winds of 150 mph, or about 240 kmph, just shy of a Category 5 storm. Hurricane warnings were in effect for Barbados, Grenada, Tobago and St. Vincent and the Grenadines as thousands of people hunkered down in homes and shelters