Tropical storm Harvey wrecked havoc in the state of Texas last week with numerous people killed and many areas inundated by flood waters. The hurricane killed Indian student Nikhil Bhatia on August 30, and it has now been reported that his friend Shalini Singh, who was fighting for life at a local hospital, has also died.
Singh and Bhatia had gone swimming in Lake Bryan and had flagged down police officers nearby when they noticed a sudden current of water, which pushed them deeper. Bryan Police officers then rescued them and took them to a nearby hospital after providing CPR.
The 25-year-old's maternal uncle and brother, who flew down from New Delhi on August 30, were with her at the time of her death, reported the Press Trust of India. She will be cremated next Tuesday or Wednesday in Houston.
Singh had come to Texas just two months ago and was a student of A&M University. She was pursuing a master's degree in public health with Bhatia.
On August 30, Singh's friend Bhatia had succumbed while at the ICU. The 24-year-old was from Jaipur and was cremated in Houston in the presence of his mother Suman Bhatia and his close friends. The consulate office told PTI that Suman would be returning to India today, September 4, and would bring back her son's ashes.
The city of Houston received catastrophic rainfall caused by Hurricane Harvey and residents hunkered down in preparation for the "unprecedented" rainfall. About 200 Indian students were earlier said to be marooned at the campus of the University of Houston.
Even though the US Coast Guard did not permit the Indian embassy to provide them food as boats were required to reach them, they have been given fresh food supplies, by the Muslim Association of Greater Houston and the Swaminarayan Temple.
"For now they are staying where they were as the water level had receded there and power supply had resumed," Hindustan Times quoted Indian consul general Anupam Ray as saying. Ray was said to have spent time with the students and assured them that they were safe.
Meanwhile, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said that the damages caused by Harvey were massive and explained that it could be worse than the one caused in New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
The damage caused by Harvey is currently pegged at $180 billion. "Katrina caused, if I recall, more than $120bn [of damage] but when you look at the number of homes and business affected by this I think this will cost well over $120bn, probably $150bn to $180bn," Abbott told Fox News.
