Indian among 18 dead in Texas, Harvey makes second landfall
DEADLY STORM Damage of billions estimated, Houston mayor declares nighttime curfew to stave off looting
Indian student Nikhil Bhatia, who was seriously injured while swimming in a swollen lake after tropical storm Harvey hit Texas, died in a hospital in Houston.
The 24-year-old from Jaipur, who was studying at Texas A&M University, was among the 18 people killed since the storm first came ashore on Friday. Bhatia’s relatives informed Indian officials that he was declared dead by the hospital on Tuesday. He died three days after he was rescued from Lake Bryan with fellow student Shalini Singh, who remained in a critical condition.
Two hundred Indian students of the University of Houston, who had been stranded in their apartments, were reported safe and well provided for with food and other supplies.
There was a significant drop in the number of calls for help the that Indian consul general in Houston received on Tuesday — from 10-12 in the morning to none in the evening.
Harvey made landfall again on Wednesday near the Texas-Louisiana border, adding more rain after a record downpour that has caused catastrophic flooding and paralysed Houston.
The storm is the most powerful hurricane to hit Texas in more than 50 years and has forced tens of thousands to leave their deluged homes. Damage has been estimated at tens of billions of dollars, making it one of the costliest US natural disasters.
Nearly a third of Harris County, home to Houston, was under water, according to the Houston Chronicle newspaper. It may take days for all flood waters, which have spilled over dams and pushed levees to their limits, to recede, local officials said.
City officials were preparing to temporarily house 19,000 people, with thousands more expected to flee. As of Tuesday morning, nearly 50,000 homes had suffered flood damage, officials said, and the tally is certain to rise.
Houston mayor Sylvester Turner announced a curfew from midnight to 5 am amid reports of looting, armed robberies and people impersonating police officers.
US President Donald Trump visited Texas on Tuesday to survey damage from the first major natural disaster to test his leadership in a crisis.
He said he was pleased with the response, but it was too soon for a victory lap.
He also said: “This is historic, it’s epic what happened. But you know what, it happened in Texas and Texas can handle anything.”
Moody’s Analytics is estimating the economic cost from Harvey for southeast Texas at $51 billion to $75 billion.
The National Hurricane Centre on Tuesday said a record 131.78 cm rain had fallen in Texas due to Harvey, a record for any storm in the continental US.