200 INDIANS MAROONED IN HOUSTON
Trump declares emergency in Louisiana after part of southern state was pelted with rain
As many as 200 Indian students are “surrounded by neck-deep water” and are marooned at the University of Houston after the campus was flooded due to Hurricane Harvey. Two Indian students are now in the ICU.
External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted: “@CGHoust (India’s consul-general in Houston) has informed me 200 Indian students at University of Houston are marooned. We made efforts for delivery of food but US Coast Guard did not allow as boats were required for rescue operations. Mr Anupam Ray, our CG Houston, is organising rescue operations. Indian students Shalini and Nikhil Bhatia are in ICU. We are ensuring that their relatives reach there at the earliest.”
Harvey, the most powerful hurricane to hit the US in 13 years, has left a trail of destruction as it swept through Texas Sunday, claiming at least five lives. US President Donald Trump declared a state of emergency on Monday.
Washington, Aug. 28: US President Donald Trump declared an emergency in Louisiana on Monday as part of the southern state was pelted with rain from tropical storm Harvey.
The declaration allows the federal government, specifically the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) to coordinate relief efforts. It also provides federal funding for disaster relief.
“This action will help alleviate the hardship and suffering that the emergency has inflicted on the local population,” the White House said in a statement. “Specifically, Fema is authorised to identify, mobilise, and provide at its discretion equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency.”
As of Monday morning, Harvey was hovering on the Gulf coast of Texas, about 160 km southwest of Houston.
It was expected to start moving towards the northeast on Tuesday bringing heavy rains through Friday to already inundated parts of east Texas and into neighboring southwestern Louisiana.
Emergency management officials said they are expediting federal resources to Texas to help with rescue efforts after Harvey swamped coastal areas of the state and forced 30,000 people to seek refuge in temporary shelters.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) administrator Brock Long said that more than 450,000 people were expected to seek disaster assistance due to flooding after Harvey made landfall during the weekend before weakening to tropical storm status.
Rains have submerged cars and turned freeways into rivers with more flooding expected when the storm shifts back in the direction of Houston. Schools, airports and office buildings in the nation’s fourth largest city were shut on Monday as chest-high water filled some neighborhoods in the low-lying city, home to about 2.3 million people.
The metropolitan area, home to 6.8 million people, also is the nation’s refining and petrochemical hub, which has been crippled by the storm. Numerous refiners shut operations, likely for weeks.
Torrential rain also hit areas more than 240 km away, swelling rivers upstream and causing a surge that was heading toward the Houston area, where numerous rivers and streams already have been breached. Some areas have already seen as much as 30 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service.
By the end of the week in some Texas coastal areas, the total precipitation could reach 50 inches, which is the average rainfall for an entire year, forecasters said.
We are not out of the woods yet, not by a long shot. Harvey is still a dangerous and historic storm.
Elaine Duke, Acting homeland security secy