Offices remained closed across Houston as commercial property managers moved into recovery mode after Hurricane Beryl caused flooding and power outages in a city still scarred by the previous deadly storm less than two months ago.

Beryl has led to the deaths of at least seven people, and more than 1.5 million customers were still without power late Tuesday, according to electricity provider CenterPoint Energy. Companies across Houston asked employees to work from home if they could do their jobs at all because of widespread internet and cell service issues from downed power lines and cell towers, with exact numbers unavailable late Tuesday.

The storm, with multiple tornadoes, caused up to $32 billion in damage and economic loss across multiple states, according to preliminary estimates. It had winds of hurricane force of 74 miles per hour or greater when it hit the nation's fourth-largest city — with a skyline of towers still marked with plywood after a long-lived wind storm, or derecho, punched out windows on May 16.

Some parts of downtown Houston are still closed from the May storm, and matters for commercial real estate owners and tenants were worsened when downtown flood waters from Beryl covered streets Monday before receding by early Tuesday. While many businesses have reopened downtown, unnecessary travel is still discouraged, the Houston Downtown Management District said on its website.

Cushman & Wakefield’s Houston office was closed on Monday in anticipation of Beryl’s arrival after many days of getting ready, as a number of city businesses were hardened by the May storm. The brokerage's city office reopened Tuesday.

“We have been through these things before. Our team started prepping well in advance of a week,” Brett Williams, Cushman & Wakefield’s executive managing director of asset services for the central region, told CoStar News. “When a storm enters the Gulf, we’re on high alert. Our teams stood ready.”

Beryl made landfall early Monday about 100 miles southwest of Houston as a Category 1 hurricane and was downgraded to a tropical storm as it approached Houston. Before hitting Houston, Beryl was the earliest Category 5 hurricane on record in the Atlantic basin and damaged Jamaica and parts of the Yucatan Peninsula, according to weather data and forecast provider AccuWeather.

"The Houston area was particularly hard hit once again following the destructive thunderstorm windstorm in May. This time, 8-12 inches of rain combined with these winds, leading to widespread flooding and wind damage, with more than 2 million homes and businesses losing power," AccuWeather said in a statement.

Cleanup is expected to stretch for days and power in some areas could be out for a week with the downed trees and power lines and streets flooded, according to estimates.

Global real estate developer and property manager Hines said Beryl was unlike the surprise May storm that hit Houston.

“The events in May were different in that there was no advanced warning, but the reaction was the same,” Adam Rose, the company’s vice president of management services for the Southwest region, told CoStar News in an email. “Preparation was in place, and we were ready. Luckily, Houston is a large market for Hines so if we need to divert resources or manpower from one building to another, we have that capacity.”

Houston officials opened multiple cooling centers Tuesday in anticipation of the effects of the scorching summer heat on those without power.

City residents and business owners could face rising insurance costs as a result of the increased storm frequency and damage.

Predictions of continued severe weather conditions and higher material costs to rebuild homes or businesses after events like Beryl play into increased premiums in Texas and other coastal states prone to hurricanes or tropical storms, according to a report from Insurify, a virtual insurance agent.