Skip to main content

FLOOD TO WORSEN AS TRUMP VISIT HURRICANE BATTERED TEXAS

Flooding in South-Eastern Texas and South-Western Louisiana is expected to worsen due to overnight heavy rainfall, just as U.S. President Donald Trump is preparing to visit the battered region.

Harvey, which has been downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm, is drifting eastward back toward the Texas coastline after meandering in the Gulf of Mexico, an advisory issued early on Tuesday by the National Hurricane Centre said.

The centre advised people to avoid traveling in the affected areas and not to drive into flooded roadways, warning the situation remains "catastrophic and life-threatening''.

Trump and First Lady Melania would meet local leaders and representatives of relief organisations in Corpus Christi, Texas.

They are scheduled to visit the Emergency Operations Centre in Austin and meet with state officials.

Flights into Houston's two airports had ceased due to flooding on the surrounding roads.

States of emergency have been declared in 54 counties in Texas and parts of neighbouring Louisiana.

All 12,000 available members of the Texas National Guard have been deployed to help with search and rescue, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has sent 8,500 federal staff members to Texas and Louisiana.

More than 3,000 people have been rescued in the city of Houston, which was among the worst hit.

Mayor Sylvester Turner said calls were still coming in from people stuck or on top of in their flooded homes.

Some 5,500 people were inside shelters in the Texas city of more than 2 million people, and more than 30,000 people were expected to be placed in temporary shelters.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

EMIR OF KASTINA TELLS PRESIDENT BUHARI TO SIGN PEACE CORPS BILL

The Emir of Katsina, Abdulmumini Usman, has declared support for the Peace Corps bill passed by the National Assembly. The bill, which seeks to turn the Peace Corps, a non-government organisation, into a government paramilitary agency, has elicited mixed reactions from Nigerians. Proponents see it as an avenue to create jobs for thousands of youth while critics describe as a duplication of functions already being performed by existing agencies and creation of another bureaucracy at a time the country is finding it difficult to pay workers' salaries. The bill was opposed by existing military and security institutions in Nigeria and the Peace Corps leader Dickson Akoh is currently being prosecuted for alleged fraud. Apart from lawmakers, the bill is also supported by some prominent Nigerians including the Minister of Sports, Solomon Dalung, who also asked Mr. Buhari to sign to it. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the Katsina emir made a similar call on the president on Thursda...

AKEREDOLU, KEKEMEKE AND OTHERS BID MRS FAGUNWA GOODBYE

Read President Buhari’s Christmas Message To Nigerians

I felicitate with all Nigerians, especially our Christian brothers and sisters, on the joyous occasion of this year's Christmas.On this occasion of the commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ, let us all rededicate ourselves to the virtues of peace, love, honesty, justice, equity, piety, humility and service to others which he taught.There can be no doubt that a greater manifestation of these virtues and ideals in our lives will immensely help us to become a more united, peaceful, secure and progressive nation.Let us also reach out in love and compassion to fellow Nigerians who are in distress at this periodof our nation's history.I particularly urge you all to remember victims of terrorism and insurgency in the country, especially Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).The Federal Government will continue to collaborate with state governments and other stakeholders to ease the harsh conditions in IDP camps, while the ultimate objective remains to quickly put an end to insurgen...