Leonardo DiCaprio joins stars in donating $1 million to Harvey relief effort 

Leonardo DiCaprio\'s foundation has donated $1 million (£775,000) to relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, adding to growing pledges from Hollywood stars.

The newly-established United Way Harvey Recovery Fund said it was "incredibly grateful" to receive its first donation from the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation.

The donation matches that given by Sandra Bullock to the American Red Cross to help the thousands of evacuees in Texas and Louisiana created by the catastrophic storm.

Comedian Ellen DeGeneres, who donated $50,000 of her own money to the relief effort, presented a $1 million donation from Walmart to the Hurricane Harvey relief fund set up by J.J. Watt, defensive end for the Houston Texans.

When #Texas needed him, @JJWatt was there. I was honored to help make this amazing gift from @Walmart possible. https://t.co/bObBtijEwq

— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) August 31, 2017

Actor Kevin Hart donated 50,000 dollars (£39,000), set up a crowd-funding page that has exceeded one million dollars and challenged other Hollywood stars to help out.

DJ Khaled responded with a 25,000-dollar (£19,000) pledge as did Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, the wrestler-turned-actor who made 65 million dollars (£50 million) in the year leading up to June according to Forbes.

The Kardashian clan also announced they would collectively donate 500,000 dollars (£387,000) split between the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army, while Beyonce said her philanthropic organisation BeyGOOD would be helping.

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United Way president Brian Gallagher thanked Oscar-winner DiCaprio, 42, for his generosity, saying: "Responding to Hurricane Harvey requires the best of all of us - and that\'s what this gift represents."

So far 31 people have been confirmed dead after the storm that came ashore on Friday, but this number is expected to rise.

Harvey has been downgraded to a tropical depression but "life-threatening" flooding will persist in and around Texas cities Houston, Port Arthur and Beaumont and in the south-west of Louisiana.

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