By NAN News Editor
News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. Sept. 1, 2017: Two celebrity daughters of the Caribbean have opened their check books to help the people of Texas as the death toll rose to 35 Thursday and tens of thousands have been rendered homeless.
Trinidad-born rapper Nicki Minaj donated US $25 thousand this week based on a social media challenge from comedian and actor Kevin Hart for the people of Houston and the American Red Cross.
She also tweeted: “Praying for the people of Houston today. These images are heartbreaking.”
Hart raised over 1 million for the organization.
Meanwhile, Bajan star Rihanna also donated to help the effort but to the nonprofit organization Feeding America. The singer also donated funds through her Clara Lionel Foundation, though the pledge amount is currently unknown.
“A huge thank you to @rihanna and the @ClaraLionelFdn for their generous donation for Tropical Storm Harvey relief efforts!” the organization tweeted.
On Thursday, officials and residents in Texas begun to assess the storm’s trail of destruction in Houston as the flood waters slowly started to recede six days after Hurricane Harvey roared ashore in southeastern Texas.
Approximately 325,000 people have registered for FEMA assistance and $57 million has been distributed so far
Preliminary data shows Harvey has broken the rainfall record for a single storm event in the lower 48 states, according to the National Weather Service. The storm dropped a preliminary tally of 51.88 inches of rain in Cedar Bayou, Texas, some 30 miles east of Houston.
Harvey, which first hit land as a Category 4 hurricane, made its third landfall just west of Cameron, Louisiana, early Wednesday morning as a tropical storm. Harvey weakened to a tropical depression overnight before being degraded to a low-pressure system that is expected to bring heavy rain to the Tennessee Valley and the Ohio Valley.
Meanwhile, the Jamaica Foundation of Houston is raising money to help Jamaicans affected by the flood. Log on here or for any questions, comments or contact via email JamaicaFoundationHouston@gmail.com. Checks and other correspondence can be mailed to: The Jamaica Foundation of Houston, PO Box 710824, Houston, Texas 77042.
