Trump visits storm-hit Texas
DONALD Trump is expected in Texas today, aiming to show unity in the face of what he called the “terrible tragedy” wrought by storm Harvey’s devastating rains.
The US president and his wife Melania are not slated to visit Houston, America’s fourth largest city, where rescue teams were scrambling to reach hundreds of stranded people as Harvey appeared poised to strike again.
They will instead make stops further west, including hard-hit Corpus Christi, for briefings on relief efforts as catastrophic flooding has crippled parts of the massive state’s southeast.
The medical examiner confirmed six deaths since Sunday.
“We are one American family,” Trump said, eager to present himself as a unifying figure in the face of natural disaster after leading a White House for seven months plagued by controversy. He promised the government would be on hand to help Texas after the historic storm.
But officials warned that the danger has not yet passed, with more families still stranded or packed into emergency shelters and the storm once more gathering strength on the Gulf coast.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said more than 8 000 people had been brought, soaking and desperate, to shelters the city, and defended the decision not to evacuate before Harvey struck.
“Search and rescue, that’s the number-one priority for the rest of the day,” he said, recalling that around 100 people had died the last time officials tried to empty the city of more than six million.
Coast Guard commander Vice Admiral Karl Schultz told CNN that he had 18 helicopters in Houston, and about 12 in the air at any one time, alongside those of the National Guard. “If you can get to your roof, wave a towel. Leave a marking on the roof so helicopter crews can see you,” he said, describing the volume of emergency calls as “staggering”.
Harvey hit Texas on Friday as a Category 4 hurricane, tearing down homes and businesses on the Gulf Coast before dumping an “unprecedented” nine trillion gallons of rainfall inland.
“We anticipate that up to half a million people in Texas will be applying for financial disaster assistance,” Vice-President Mike Pence said. — AFP