Disaster
American president Donald Trump to visit hurricane hit Texas
America: US President Donald Trump will visit storm-ravaged Texas on Tuesday, the White House said today, even as the administration ramps up its response to the most powerful hurricane to hit America in 13 years.
US President Trump took to Twitter Sunday to indicate he was monitoring Tropical Storm Harvey, which continues to wreak havoc on the Texas Gulf Coast after being downgraded from a hurricane.
I will be going to Texas as soon as that trip can be made without causing disruption. The focus must be life and safety.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 27, 2017
The US president praised the “great coordination between all levels of government” and “great talent on the ground”. He also said he will visit Texas “as soon as that trip can be made without causing disruption” to the ongoing emergency response.
Meanwhile the National Weather Service called the flooding in Texas unprecedented as the State experienced a record breaking 50 inches of rain in parts of Texas. “The breadth and intensity of this rainfall are beyond anything experienced before.
HISTORIC rainfall in Houston, and all over Texas. Floods are unprecedented, and more rain coming. Spirit of the people is incredible.Thanks!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 27, 2017
“Catastrophic flooding is now underway and expected to continue for days,” the service said in a statement.Later yesterday, Trump held a second Cabinet meeting on Hurricane Harvey to shore up response and recovery efforts, according to the White House. The storm has hammered Texas since Friday, when it first made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane. The federal government has 5,000 people on site in Texas and Louisiana, where the storm continues to bring torrential rains and flooding.
Several states and the US military are sending emergency workers and equipment to Texas.
Dallas announced its plans to open a “mega-shelter” capable of accommodating 5,000 evacuees at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center. County officials, charitable groups and local hospitals are working to open the shelter by Tuesday morning.
Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental and William P. Hobby airports are closed until further notice, officials said. Corpus Christi International reopened at 4 p.m. Sunday, officials said. Jack Brooks Regional Airport in Beaumont, Ellington Airport in Houston, Mustang Beach Airport in Port Aransas and McCampbell-Porter Airport in Aransas Pass are also temporarily closed, the Federal Aviation Administration says.
The monster storm has claimed 10 lives so far. The director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency said recovery efforts would take years.
