Texas floods: 2 Indians in ICU, 200 left marooned
Students stranded at University of Houston being evacuated
WASHINGTON: Two Indian students enrolled at a university in Texas were in an intensive care unit after tropical storm Harvey pummelled and flooded the state since Friday, with 200 others marooned at another university being moved to a safer place, according to Indian officials in the US.
Efforts were on to ensure relatives of the hospitalised Texas A&M University students — identified as Shalini and Nikhil Bhatia — were able to reach them at the earliest. They had gone swimming and were overwhelmed by the rapidly rising water level on Sunday, officials said,
Those marooned were at the University of Houston. Their apartments on the university campus had been submerged in neck-deep water.
“At this point things are fine,” an office-bearer of the Organization of Indian Student at the University of Houston said. “Water near the apartment has drained. University police have been speaking to all the students to make sure everyone is safe.”
A team of Indian diplomats was on its way to A&M University by road, while those marooned were being evacuated with the help of officials led by university president Renu Khator — an Indian American — and local authorities, according to consul general in Houston Anupam Ray.
The students had reached out for help to Ray — himself stranded at home — via Facebook on Sunday. Efforts were made to rescue them and reach food to them, but the US coast guard needed boats for rescue work.
“They are being evacuated today,” Ray told HT over phone on Monday. He said Khator was personally supervising efforts to rescue the Indian students and local Indian Americans had helped with food supplies.
The staff of the Indian mission in Houston had also been impacted by the flood. Some have taken shelter at the consulate, and Ray said water had entered his home forcing him and the family to move to a higher floor.
At least five people have died because of the storm that made landfall on the gulf coast of Texas on Friday as a category 4 hurricane. Despite being downgraded as a “tropical storm”, Harvey has flooded thousands of homes and businesses.
The National Weather Service tweeted: “This event is unprecedented & all impacts are unknown & beyond anything experienced. Follow orders from officials to ensure safety. #Harvey.”
President Donald Trump plans to tour affected areas on Tuesday.