Hurricane Harvey: President Trump and First Lady Meet Flood Victims

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump met Hurricane Harvey victims and volunteers in Texas.

He praised the relief response to Hurricane Harvey on his second visit to flood-hit states.

“Things are working out well,” the president said of the efforts.

“As tough as this was, it’s been a wonderful thing,” he added.

“I think even for the country to watch and for the world to watch.”

The devastating hurricane made landfall in the state a week ago.

Some residents have been allowed to return to their homes but flood waters are still rising in other areas.

Image source WhiteHouse.gov

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Hurricane Harvey has been blamed for at least 47 deaths, and about 43,000 people are currently housed in shelters.

President Trump and his wife visited Texas earlier in the week but stayed clear of the disaster zone, saying they did not want to divert resources from rescue work.

However, the president was criticized for not meeting victims of the flooding and for focusing largely on the logistics of the government response.

Visiting Texas again on September 2, President Trump and the first lady made a point of meeting flood survivors and volunteers in Houston. They took part in food distribution at a shelter, handing out packed lunches, and posed for photographs with victims when they requested it.

During a tour of a shelter, President Trump said: “I think people appreciate what’s been done. It’s been done very efficiently, very well, and that’s what we want. We’ve very happy with the way things are going. A lot of love. There’s a lot of love.”

The president and his wife then traveled to Lake Charles, Louisiana, which also suffered flash floods, before flying back to Washington.

Amid the destruction, stories have been shared of people opening their homes and businesses to others, and forming human chains to save people from treacherous rising waters.

However, many are also now returning to destroyed homes without the insurance to fix them.

Experts estimate that only about 20% of those in Houston’s worst hit areas have flood insurance.

President Trump has asked Congress for $7.8 billion as an initial payment to help with recovery efforts following the flooding in both Texas and Louisiana, which has also hit production at America’s main petrol and oil refining centre.

On September 2, the White House said that the president had authorized an increase in the level of federal funding available for debris removal and emergency protective measures.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has said the state may need more than $125 billion in aid.

The president has declared Sunday, September 3, a “National Day of Prayer” for victims of Hurricane Harvey.

Administration officials say there will be further requests for funds when the full impact of Hurricane Harvey becomes known.

Hurricane Harvey dumped an estimated 20 trillion gallons of rain on the Houston area.

Governor Greg Abbott has warned that the recovery program will be a “multi-year project”.

“This is going to be a massive, massive clean-up process,” he told ABC News.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has warned that floodwater can contain bacteria and other contaminants from overflowing sewers. It said the biggest threat to public health was access to safe drinking water.

Authorities in flood-hit Orange County, east of Beaumont, imposed a curfew on September 2 to give its residents “peace of mind”, officials said. Looting in Houston earlier in the week led to a curfew being implemented.

Thousands of homes and businesses remain without power, and many schools are expected to remain closed on September 4.