John Jefferson
Watch a live view of downtown Houston as Texas prepares for Hurricane Beryl, which could grow into a category 2 hurricane on Monday 8 July.
The storm is hurtling towards the city with maximum sustained winds of 80mph (130km/h).
Beryl, which left a trail of destruction this week in the Caribbean, killing at least 11 people, is now a category 1 hurricane and may strengthen into a category 2 by landfall on Monday, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.
School systems – including the state’s largest in Houston – said they would be closed as the storm approached.
Airlines also cancelled hundreds of flights, and officials ordered a smattering of evacuations in beach towns.
Closures of major oil-shipping ports around Corpus Christi, Galveston and Houston ahead of the storm could disrupt crude oil exports, shipments of crude to refineries, and motor fuel from the plants.
Most of the northern Gulf’s offshore oil and gas production is east of Beryl’s forecast track.
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