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Trump offers Texans in-person reassurances on storm recovery

By MICHAEL GRACZYK, Associated Press
By MICHAEL GRACZYK, Associated Press

HOUSTON — President Donald Trump offered upbeat reassurances Tuesday to Texans who felt the wrath of Harvey, promising local residents, "We are going to get you back and operating immediately."

Starting his visit to Texas in wind-whipped but sunny Corpus Christi, Trump's motorcade passed broken trees, knocked-down signs and fences askew as it made its way to a firehouse for a briefing with local officials.

"This was of epic proportion," the president declared as he pledged to provide model recovery assistance. "We want to do it better than ever before. We want to be looked at in five years, in 10 years from now as, 'This is the way to do it.'"

Afterward, Trump stood on a ladder between two fire trucks and spoke to a crowd of hundreds of people gathered outside.

"What a crowd. What a turnout," Trump said, thanking Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn. "This is historic. It's epic what happened, but you know what, it happened in Texas, and Texas can handle anything."

Trump's optimistic reassurances stood in contrast to the more measured assessments coming from emergency management officials, who are cautioning about a long, difficult road ahead.

Brock Long, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, who appeared with Trump, warned, "This recovery is going to be frustrating."

"Recovery is a slow process but rest assured we're doing everything we can," Long said.

[READ MORE: Samaritan’s Purse sends more equipment to help with Houston relief]

Trump drew cheers as he waved a Texas flag before the Corpus Christi crowd. He told the residents they were "special" and "we love you," but didn't directly reference those who had died or were displaced by the storm's fury.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters traveling with Trump that his visit was focused on coordination among different levels of government and laying the groundwork for what is expected to be a lengthy recovery effort.

"The president wants to be very cautious about making sure that any activity doesn't disrupt the recovery efforts that are still ongoing," she said aboard Air Force One shortly before it touched down in Corpus Christi.

Trump traveled with first lady Melania Trump and Cabinet secretaries who will play key roles in the recovery.

The president, who wore a black rain slicker with the presidential seal on his chest and a white cap that said "USA," was briefed in Corpus Christi on relief efforts. He later flew to meet with state officials at the emergency operations center in Austin. Mrs. Trump, who traded in her usual stiletto heels for a pair of white sneakers, wore a black baseball cap that read "FLOTUS," an acronym for "first lady of the United States."

The Cabinet secretaries were to meet with their Texas counterparts during Trump's visit.

Trump has embraced the role of guiding the nation's response to Harvey, which made landfall along the Gulf Coast on Friday night as a Category 4 storm near Corpus Christi, and moved northeast along the Texas coast over Houston. The storm has dumped more than 30 inches of rain in parts of Texas and authorities have rescued thousands of people left stranded by the storm.

Trump's vow of swift action on billions of dollars in disaster aid is at odds with his proposed budget, which would eliminate the program that helps Americans without flood insurance rebuild their homes and cut grants to states that would allow them to take long-term steps to reduce the risk of flooding before disaster strikes.

Trump's budget for 2018 zeroes out the Community Development Block Grants, a key program that helped the Gulf Coast rebuild after Hurricane Katrina and helped New York and New Jersey come back from Superstorm Sandy. In the 2017 budget, the Republican-led Congress restored some of the block grant money.

While Trump's pending budget request didn't touch the core disaster aid account, it proposed cutting several grant programs to states to help them reduce flood risks before a disaster strikes, as well as improve outdated flood maps to help communities plan for floods and take steps to better manage development in flood zones.

All told, Trump proposed cutting such grant programs by about $900 million.

Battered by Harvey, Houston braces for even more flooding

Officials released more water from Houston-area reservoirs overwhelmed by Harvey early Monday in a move aimed at protecting the city's downtown from devastating floods but that could still endanger thousands of homes, even as the nation's fourth-largest city braced for more rain.

[CLICK HERE FOR WEEKEND COVERAGE OF HARVEY]

Harvey, which made landfall late Friday as a Category 4 hurricane and has lingered dropping heavy rain as a tropical storm, sent devastating floods pouring into Houston on Sunday. The rising water chased thousands of people to rooftops or higher ground and overwhelmed rescuers who could not keep up with the constant calls for help.

[SPECIAL HURRICANE SECTION]

Residents living near the Addicks and Barker reservoirs - that were designed to prevent flooding in downtown Houston - were warned Sunday that a controlled release from both reservoirs would cause additional street flooding that could spill into homes.

Rising water levels and continuing rain was putting pressure on the dams that could cause a failure without the release. Harris and Fort Bend county officials advised residents to pack their cars Sunday night and wait for daylight Monday to leave.

[PHOTOS: Hurricane Harvey causes widespread damage]

"The idea is to prepare ... pack up what you need and put it in your vehicle and when the sun comes up, get out," said Jeff Lindner, a meteorologist for the Harris County Flood Control District. "And you don't have to go far, you just need to get out of this area."

[LIVE UPDATES: Catastrophic flooding inundating parts of Texas as torrential rains pound the region]

The Army Corps of Engineers started the reservoir releases before 2 a.m. Monday - ahead of schedule - because water levels were increasing dramatically at a rate of more than six inches per hour, a Corps spokesman Jay Townsend said. The timetable was moved up to prevent more homes from being flooded, Townsend said.

Meanwhile, officials in Fort Bend County, Houston's southwestern suburbs, late Sunday issued widespread mandatory evacuation orders along the Brazos River levee districts. County officials were preparing for the river to reach major flood stages late Sunday.

County Judge Robert Herbert said at a news conference that National Weather Service officials were predicting that the water could rise to 59 feet (18 meters), three feet (90 centimeters) above 2016 records and what Herbert called an "800-year flood level." Herbert said that amount of water would top the levees and carries a threat of levee failure.

More Harvey Coverage:

On Sunday, incessant rain covered much of Houston in turbid, gray-green water and turned streets into rivers navigable only by boat. In a rescue effort that recalled the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, helicopters landed near flooded freeways, airboats buzzed across submerged neighborhoods and high-water vehicles plowed through water-logged intersections. Some people managed with kayaks or canoes or swam.

Volunteers joined emergency teams in pulling people from their homes or from the water. The flooding was so widespread that authorities had trouble pinpointing the worst areas. They urged people to get on top of their houses to avoid becoming trapped in attics and to wave sheets or towels to draw attention to their location.

Judging from federal disaster declarations, the storm has so far affected about a quarter of the Texas population, or 6.8 million people in 18 counties. It was blamed in at least two deaths.

As the water rose, the National Weather Service issued another ominous forecast: Before the storm that arrived Friday as a Category 4 hurricane is gone, some parts of Houston and its suburbs could get as much as 50 inches (1.3 meters) of rain. That would be the highest amount ever recorded in Texas.

Some areas have already received about half that amount. Since Thursday, South Houston recorded nearly 25 inches, and the suburbs of Santa Fe and Dayton got 27 inches.

"The breadth and intensity of this rainfall is beyond anything experienced before," the National Weather Service said in a statement.

Average rainfall totals will end up around 40 inches (1 meter) for Houston, weather service meteorologist Patrick Burke said.

More Harvey Coverage:

The director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Brock Long, predicted that the aftermath of the storm would require FEMA's involvement for years.

"This disaster's going to be a landmark event," Long said.

Rescuers had to give top priority to life-and-death situations, leaving many affected families to fend for themselves. And several hospitals in the Houston area were evacuated due to the rising waters.

It was not clear how many people were plucked from the floodwaters. Up to 1,200 people had to be rescued in Galveston County alone, said Mark Henry, the county judge, the county's top administrative post.

Houston's George R. Brown Convention Center was quickly opened as a shelter. It was also used as a shelter for Katrina refugees in 2005.

Gillis Leho arrived there soaking wet. She said she awoke Sunday to find her downstairs flooded. She tried to move some belongings upstairs, then grabbed her grandchildren.

"When they told us the current was getting high, we had to bust a window to get out," Leho said.

Some people used inflatable beach toys, rubber rafts and even air mattresses to get through the water to safety. Others waded while carrying trash bags stuffed with their belongings and small animals in picnic coolers.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said authorities had received more than 2,000 calls for help, with more coming in. He urged drivers to stay off roads to avoid adding to the number of those stranded.

"I don't need to tell anyone this is a very, very serious and unprecedented storm," Turner told a news conference. "We have several hundred structural flooding reports. We expect that number to rise pretty dramatically."

The deteriorating situation was bound to provoke questions about the conflicting advice given by the governor and Houston leaders before the hurricane. Gov. Greg Abbott urged people to flee from Harvey's path, but the Houston mayor issued no evacuation orders and told everyone to stay home.

The governor refused to point fingers on Sunday.

"Now is not the time to second-guess the decisions that were made," Abbott, a Republican, said at a news conference in Austin. "What's important is that everybody work together to ensure that we are going to, first, save lives and, second, help people across the state rebuild."

The mayor, a Democrat, defended his decision, saying there was no way to know which parts of the city were most vulnerable.

"If you think the situation right now is bad, and you give an order to evacuate, you are creating a nightmare," Turner said, citing the risks of sending the city's 2.3 million inhabitants onto the highways at the same time.

The Coast Guard deployed five helicopters and asked for additional aircraft from New Orleans.

The White House announced that President Donald Trump would visit Texas on Tuesday. He met Sunday by teleconference with top administration officials to discuss federal support for response and recovery efforts.

The rescues unfolded a day after Harvey settled over the Texas coastline. The system weakened Saturday to a tropical storm. By early Monday, Harvey had shifted a little closer to Texas, hovering about 20 miles (30 kilometers) east of Victoria, with sustained winds of about 40 mph. The National Hurricane Center said it continued to edge in a southeasterly direction at 3 mph.

Harvey was the fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in 13 years and the strongest to strike Texas since 1961's Hurricane Carla, the most powerful Texas hurricane on record.

Trump meets and tweets as Texas gov praises Harvey response

President Donald Trump sought to showcase the federal government's response to Hurricane Harvey in a tweetstorm of his own, marveling over its size like a TV host and announcing a visit to Texas with the natural disaster only just beginning to take its catastrophic toll.

In a series of tweets Sunday Trump said his administration was handling its responsibilities well and, in a tangential aside, hawked a book on race and crime in America written by a supporter.

"Wow - Now experts are calling #Harvey a once in 500 year flood! We have an all out effort going, and going well!"

He later added: "Even experts have said they've never seen one like this!"

Harvey is the first major natural disaster of Trump's presidency and a significant test for a White House that is often chaotic and rife with infighting. Attention on Harvey from officials, the public and the news media also allows Trump to refocus after a turbulent stretch that included his widely criticized response to the white nationalist protests in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Trump, who spent most of the weekend at the presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland, convened a Cabinet meeting by telephone Sunday which included Vice President Mike Pence. He tweeted a promise of a Texas visit "as soon as that trip can be made without causing disruption" - later announced by the White House as Tuesday.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott loaded heavy praise on Trump and the federal government, describing an "A-plus" effort.

"I've got to tell you, I give FEMA a grade of A+, all the way from the president down," Abbott said. "I've spoken to the president several times, to his Cabinet members, such as secretary of homeland security, such as the administrator of FEMA, such as Tom Price, the secretary of health and human services."

The devastating storm has dumped more than 2 feet of rain, sending thousands of people in Houston to rooftops for rescue and prompting a warning from Federal Emergency Management Agency director Brock Long of a "landmark event" that could require years to get damaged areas back on track.

"All across the board, from the White House to the federal administration to FEMA, they've been very helpful," Abbott said.

Harvey made landfall along the Gulf Coast on Friday night as a Category 4 storm near Corpus Christi, and moved northeast along the Texas coast over Houston. Abbott said he expected heavy rain "for days to come."

The governor commended Trump for being "extremely professional, very helpful" in moving quickly to grant his request Friday for an immediate disaster declaration, which triggers additional federal assistance to aggrieved areas.

Abbott said the focus was on rescue in the Houston area, citing multiple high-level vehicles sent in late Saturday night that were being manned by the National Guard, but that boats and helicopters will be available all across east Texas for swift water rescue. Still, in many areas, Houston officials were reporting flooding so widespread that rescuers were getting too many calls to respond to each one and had to prioritize life-and-death situations.

"We're measuring rain these days not in inches but in feet," Abbott said.

In his tweets, Trump praised Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Brock Long for "doing a great job" and touted the "great coordination between agencies at all levels of government." He also tweeted Sunday morning about his Cabinet meeting to address Harvey. The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees FEMA, is currently without a secretary.

"Major rescue operations underway!" he wrote.

Trump's tweets had their oddities and non-sequiturs. He also addressed the North America Free Trade agreement, the need for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and tax cuts. Trump also found time to promote a book by Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Sheriff David Clarke, a Trump supporter often on television discussing his conservative views of race, crime and law enforcement.

The White House released a summary of the Cabinet conference call, saying Trump "continued to stress his expectation that all departments and agencies stay fully committed to supporting the Governors of Texas and Louisiana and his number one priority of saving lives."

The Trump administration efforts seek to offer a contrast to President George W. Bush's response to Hurricane Katrina, which hit New Orleans in August 2005 and left more than 1,500 dead. The mismanaged response of Bush's FEMA administrator, Michael Brown, to that hurricane, as well as Bush's praise of Brown for doing a "heck of a job" in the immediate days after, dogged Bush for the rest of his presidency.

On Sunday, Long said FEMA is now "vastly different" than in 2005 and that he has the power he needs to mobilize forces and coordinate staffing. He said the agency was already preparing to handle the aftermath in Texas for the next couple of years.

"This disaster's going to be a landmark event," Long said. "While we're focused on the response right now and helping Texas respond, we're already pushing forward recovery housing teams, we're already pushing forward forces to be on the ground to implement national flood insurance program polices as well and doing the inspections that we need."

White House homeland security adviser Tom Bossert defended the early compliments between Trump and Abbott for the response to Harvey, citing the quick action to declare a disaster before landfall to get additional resources in place. But Bossert acknowledged the worst was yet to come, estimating "continued rain, upwards of 30 inches."

"I've been around dozens and dozens of major disasters and hurricanes, hundreds of disasters. I've never seen 30 inches of rain," he said. "We're going to posture ourselves for the long-term care of the medical needy, of the elderly, of the weak and then we'll put ourselves in the position to provide the resources to rebuild and recover," he said.

Abbott spoke on ABC's "This Week" and "Fox News Sunday," Long appeared on CNN's "State of the Union" and NBC's "Meet the Press," and Bossert was on ABC and CBS' "Face the Nation."

Scroll below for real-time social media updates on the storm:

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