70-Year-Old Woman Found Dead as Nearly 300K Still Without Power 1 Week After Hurricane Beryl

A 70-year-old woman is reportedly the latest person to die in wake of Hurricane Beryl as nearly 300,000 customers remain without power across the state of Texas.

The woman, whose identity has not been made public, was found dead inside her powerless apartment unit at the Beringwood complex in west Houston on July 13, according to FOX affiliate KRIV.

The discovery was made nearly a week after Beryl slammed into Texas, where at least 13 people died from the storm, per the Houston Chronicle.

A neighbor told KRIV he was checking on the woman, knowing she had trouble moving around, and called 911 after pounding on her door but getting no answer. She was found dead a short time later.

The cause of death for the 70-year-old woman has not been confirmed, and it has not been determined if it was heat-related.

However, residents in the complex told KRIV they believe heat played a role in their neighbor's death. "This could have been avoided," said one person.

Rob Alleman, Vice President of the Homeowners Association Board at Beringwood, told KRIV that the complex has “been completely unable to have a dialog or communication with CenterPoint Energy” the power company that has faced scrutiny for its response to the power outages caused by Beryl.

“We haven't had any meaningful updates on when power could be restored,” Alleman added.

About two hours after KRIV first aired its report on July 14, a CenterPoint truck was reportedly seen outside the apartment complex. Power was restored by 8:30 p.m. local time.

PEOPLE reached out to CenterPoint for comment on the unidentified woman's death, but did not receive an immediate response.

The Harris County Medical Examiner’s Office said at least three deaths recorded after Beryl were heat related, according to ABC affiliate KTRK-TV.

Temperatures in the region have hovered around 90 degrees in the days after Beryl made landfall on July 8, per the National Weather Service.

As of publication on July 15, more than 280,000 customers remained without power in Texas, according to PowerOutage.us. More than 260,000 of those are CenterPoint customers, per CNN.

CenterPoint announced Monday that more than 2 million customers have had power restored in wake of the hurricane. By Wednesday, the company expects 98% of customers will have power back.

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Still, CenterPoint is facing backlash for failing to restore power in a timely manner following the storm.

According to NBC News. Governor Greg Abbott called out the company at a press conference on July 14, saying, “The failure of power companies to provide power to their customers is completely unacceptable,”

The governor also gave CenterPoint until July 31 to provide “specific actions to address power outages and reduce the possibility that power will be lost during a severe weather event."

In a letter to the Public Utility Commission of Texas, Abbott also ordered an investigation into why it has taken CenterPoint so long to restore power in the state.

Jason Wells, President and CEO of CenterPoint Energy, acknowledged in a July 14 statement that the company “heard and understood” customers' frustrations 

“We are committed to doing a thorough review of our response to support our customers and our communities, especially when they need us most,” Wells added.