Hurricane Harvey has directly or indirectly takenย the lives of as least 88ย Texans, according to preliminary numbers released Friday by the Department of State Health Services.
The majority of deaths โ 62 โ were caused by wind, rain and floods, which ledย to drownings orย trees falling on people.ย
Meanwhile, 26 deaths were caused by “unsafe or unhealthy conditions” related toย the loss or disruption of services such as utilities, transportation and medical care. The state health agency found deaths caused by medical conditions, electrocution,ย traffic accidents, flood water-relatedย infections,ย fires and burns.
Deathsย from natural causes are considered indirectly related to Harvey if physical or mental stress caused by the storm exacerbated “pre-existing medical conditions and contributed to death,” the agency said.
The agency said another fiveย deathsย could be related to Harvey, but there’s still not enough information to prove a connection.ย The final death count for Harvey isn’tย expected to be released untilย next year.ย
The preliminary death toll is lower than that from Hurricane Rita in 2005, whenย aย chaotic evacuationย caused 73 deaths before the hurricane even reached Texas. That wasย more than half of the 139 deaths attributed to Rita, which veered away from Houston at the last minute and made landfall near the Texas-Louisiana border.
A dozen smaller Texas cities orderedย residents to evacuate before Harvey, a category 4 hurricane that hit the Texas coast between Port Aransas and Port O’Connor on Aug. 25.ย Corpus Christi issued a voluntary evacuation, while Houston and Harris County โ which didn’t get a direct hit but experienced historic rainfall and flooding โย didn’t issue evacuation orders.
This article was written by GIULIA AFIUNEย ofย The Texas Tribune. ย The Texas Tribuneย is a nonpartisan, nonprofit media organization that informs Texans โ and engages with them โ about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues. ย This article originally appeared at:ย ย https://www.texastribune.org/2017/10/13/harveys-death-toll-reaches-93-people/