Hurricane havoc: 200 Indians students stranded in flooding being evacuated

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj took to twitter to state the condition of the Indian students.

Nearly 200 Indian students are said to be stranded at the University of Houston, Texas, after Hurricane Harvey flooded the campus with neck-deep water, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said in a series of tweets on Monday afternoon. The minister also revealed that efforts to rescue those stranded, were on.

The Consulate General in Houston has informed Swaraj that 200 Indian students at University of Houston are marooned.

Two students, Shalini and Nikhil Bhatia are said to be critical. According to Swaraj both of them were being treated in the ICU. ''Indian students Shalini and Nikhil Bhatia are in ICU. We are ensuring that their relatives reach there at the earliest,'' Swaraj said in her tweet.

Anupam Ray, Consul General of India in Houston said he was monitoring the situation and was in touch with the Indian students. Efforts were on to make food available for the stranded students. Further she tweeted, "We made efforts for delivery of food but US Coast Guard did not allow as boats were required for rescue operations. Anupam Ray, is organising the rescue operations."

According to reports, record flooding has hit Houston and south-east Texas as Tropical Storm Harvey causes mounting havoc with yet more rain forecast. It has dumped as much as 30 inches (76cm) of rain in some counties in the past 72 hours including record amounts in the last 24 hours.

Hurricane Harvey was the most powerful hurricane to hit Texas in more than 50 years. The region has seen a year's worth of rain in just one week.

Millions of residents along the south Texas coast saw hurricane-force winds that uprooted trees and power poles.

(With agency inputs)