Heavy rains wreak havoc in Houston ahead of Howdy Modi mega event

The stage is all set for the mega “Howdy Modi” event where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address over 50,000 Indian-Americans, but the torrential rains triggered by a tropical storm have wreaked havoc in Houston, prompting the governor to declare a state of emergency in several parts of the state of Texas.

Tropical Depression Imelda slammed Texas on Thursday, causing devastating flooding, power outages and prompting urgent rescues and warnings across southeastern Texas for people to stay indoors.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has declared a state of emergency for 13 counties in southeastern Texas.

“This happened very quickly. It just demonstrates that in this day and time, climate change is real. We no longer have to be concerned just with a hurricane. We have to be concerned with almost any sort of weather system that can quickly evolve into a major storm and produce a great deal of rain,” Abbott said.