Hurricane Harvey Toll Rises To 46
The death toll in the catastrophic hurricane Harvey that lashed through the US state of Texas has increased to 46.
Meanwhile, Houston and other areas hit by record flooding are starting to enter the recovery phase. "This is going to be a massive, massive cleanup process," Texas Governor Greg Abbott said on Friday. "People need to understand this is not going to be a short-term project. This is going to be a multi-year project for Texas to be able to dig out of this catastrophe." Based on local media reports, one of the cities most affected by the catastrophic flooding is Beaumont, Texas, a town of nearly 120,000 inhabitants near the Louisiana border where the situation is especially worrying due to a lack of potable water there over the past few days. "As soon as water recedes we will assess and begin making necessary repairs," the Beaumont police department said Thursday on Twitter. Red Cross said that that around 42,000 people were housed overnight at Red Cross and partner shelters in Texas.
Meanwhile, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said Friday that the city was starting to enter a recovery phase. "There are still many rescues in the region, but with regards to the city of Houston, we are starting to move into the recovery phase with the number of rescues being dramatically down," he said. The mayor also said Houston's electrical grid was slowly recovering and that fewer than 35,000 homes were without power at the moment. Garbage collection and mass transit service in the city also have resumed. But the recovery effort is just beginning in the hardest-hit areas, with the White House estimating that 100,000 homes have been damaged and state authorities putting the number at 185,000. The total cost of recovery and rebuilding could be as high as $190 billion, which would make Harvey the costliest natural disaster in US history.
The system, which first made landfall last Friday in southern Texas as the strongest hurricane to hit the US in 13 years and then made a second landfall as a tropical storm in Louisiana early Wednesday, also brought torrential rains and severe flooding to that neighboring state. US President Donald Trump plans to ask Congress for emergency funding for Harvey relief efforts, money that could be approved when lawmakers return from their summer recess next week.
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A woman was killed and four other civilians were injured in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district as the Pakistan army intensified artillery fire across the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir, officials said, adding that a large number of houses have also been damaged in the cross-border shelling.
Reports state that a Pakistani shell struck the vehicle the woman was traveling in, resulting in her death. The woman was identified as Nargis Bashir, and some of her family members had boarded a vehicle to flee from the Razarwani village in Uri that was hit by the mortar and artillery shells from Pakistan.
In an attempt to educate and make people aware about the consequences of war amid Pakistan's continuous firing in the border states, the Delhi government did a mock drill to test air raid sirens installed at the Public Works Department (PWD) at ITO and asked people to not react out of panic.
District Magistrate (Central) G. Sudhakar also urged people to remain calm and not be alarmed when they hear the sirens.
At least twice, sirens sounded during the drill, which started at 3 pm.
PWD Minister Parvesh Verma said 40-50 more such sirens will be installed across the national capital, each of which will cover an area of 8 km.
Residents present in Rajouri along the Line of Control have started moving to safer areas after heavy cross-border shelling and attempted drone and missile attacks last night by Pakistan. All drone and missile attacks were intercepted and foiled by India's air defence system.
#WATCH | J&K | Residents of Rajouri living along the LOC have started moving to safer areas after heavy cross-border shelling and attempted drone and missile attacks last night by Pakistan.
— ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2025
All drone and missile attacks were intercepted by India's air defence system and foiled,… pic.twitter.com/XITK0CsejT
Pakistan has claimed that its Economic Affairs Division account on social media has been hacked and called the post where it appealed for more loans from the international community owing to losses from Operation Sindoor "fake."
In a post on X, Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Fact Checker shared a picture of the post and mentioned that it was "fake." Additionally, it asserted that the account had undergone hacking.
A missile-like object is found deep inside the Dal Lake after loud explosions were heard on Saturday morning in Srinagar, which is a major tourist attraction. The defense ministry also confirms that Pakistan has intruded into Srinagar's airspace in a press release.
Since the early hours of Saturday morning (10th May), Srinagar has been rocked with multiple explosions, and now electricity is taken off in various places across Kashmir. The reason for this is yet to be determined, as reports indicate multiple places in Kashmir have lost power. The Indian Army released a statement after the press briefing, where they mentioned that they have attacked and neutralized multiple terrorist launchpads in a coordinated fire assault, razing them to cinders.