The devastating effects of Hurricane Harvey are taking their terrible toll, as a report has just revealed that a Hispanic family lost their lives after their car was taken by the current.
The victims of this tragic incident are four kids all under the age of 17 and their great-grand parents. Their names are Manuel Saldivar, 84, Belia, 81, Daisy Saldivar, 6, Xavier Saldivar, 8, and Devy Saldivar, 16.
According to reports, the children’s uncle was driving the car and managed to escape through the window holding on to a branch. They reportedly told the kids to get out through the back door, but they couldn’t do it on time before the current swept the car away.
The death toll of the Hurricane has risen to 16, although the police chief in Houston didn’t confirm the latest report regarding the Hispanic family. He told members of the press that there are considerable concerns about the number of bodies that rescuers are likely to find, due to the devastating floods caused by the storm.
The first confirmed death from Hurricane Harvey was in Aransas County, the victim died after a fire outbreak that was caused by the hurricane.
Reports state that the Hurricane is expected to lead to about 10 to 20 more inches of rain on the upper Texas coast and the southwestern part of Louisiana this week.
In Texas, over 300,000 people are currently without electricity and properties worth billions of dollars have been damaged. According to CNBC, JPMorgan estimates the economic losses range anywhere from 10 to 40 billion dollars, with some predictions up to 60 billion.
President Donald Trump has been in contact with both Gregg Abbott and John Bel Edwards, governors of Texas and Louisiana respectively. He also visited the flood zones on August 29 and pledged to mount the best disaster relief efforts.
“Probably there’s never been anything so expensive in our country’s history,” Trump said at a subterranean command center, surrounded by grim-faced state authorities. “There’s never been anything so historic in terms of damage and in terms of ferocity as what we’ve witnessed with Harvey.”
Hurricane Harvey is the first major hurricane to hit the United States since Wilma wreaked havoc in 2005. It is also the first hurricane to hit the state of Texas since Hurricane Ike in 2008, and the strongest to hit the state since Carla in 1961.