One year ago, the Loredo family’s morning was shattered when a tree crashed into the side of their northwest Harris County home as Hurricane Beryl made landfall.
“It’s surreal how everything happened,” said Jose Loredo. “You never think it could happen to you.”
A photo shared with KPRC 2 shows the tree sliced off the side of their two-story home, leaving bedrooms on both floors exposed to the elements. As the storm raged, Jose rushed upstairs to get his young daughter Elena from a bedroom on the other side of an exposed wall.
His wife and children survived, but the tree crushed and killed his 73-year-old mother, Maria De La Luz Loredo.
“It could have been all of us,” he said.
Maria had lived with Jose and his wife for five years and loved watching her grandchildren grow up.
“We think about her all the time, me and my family,” he said. “She had this special love, man, that you could feel it when you’re around her.”
Having grown up in Houston, Jose knew hurricanes well, but he was shocked by the power of Beryl.
“What shocked me the most was the... the wind gusts, those were the ones that made a difference,” he said.
Maria’s death was one of the first during Hurricane Beryl, which hit Texas as a strong Category 1 storm and stayed that way for hours. Millions lost power, and the heat caused additional deaths.
At the height of the storm, more than 2.6 million CenterPoint customers lost power. Many went for days without amid sweltering temperatures.
Beryl is estimated to have caused more than $7 billion in property damage along its track in the United States, according to a National Hurricane Center report.
Today, one year later, the Loredo family is living in a short-term rental as their home remains damaged.
A tarp covers the area impacted as they await repairs and continue battling their insurance company.
“It’s been hard,” Jose said when asked about not being able to return home. “One thing my mom showed me was, you know, try to make the best of whatever you have.”
Though Maria is gone, the lessons she taught her son are helping him through a year marked by strength and resilience. The family has kept their children’s favorite toys and made their temporary house a home.
“It still feels like a dream or like a fantasy, and I feel like we won’t be able to get to reality until we’re back in our home and getting back to some normalcy,” Jose said.
The Loredo family does not know when they will be able to move back, but they hope it will be soon. Jose said seeing the images and stories from the Hill Country floods have reminded him of his own situation, but his faith has helped him stay strong and overcome.
