Trump likely to speak about Harvey damage and response at White House news conference

ajc.com

Credit: Jamie Dupree

Credit: Jamie Dupree

After a weekend of briefings and tweets about storm damage associated with Hurricane Harvey in Texas, President Donald Trump is expected to address the unprecedented weather situation along the Gulf Coast for the first time before television news cameras, as he is scheduled to hold a joint news conference Monday afternoon with the President of Finland at the White House.

The White House said that appearance would take place at 4:30 pm.

Throughout the weekend, the President expressed confidence about the disaster relief response of the federal government.

"Major rescue operations underway!" the President said on Twitter.

"We have an all out effort going, and going well!" he added in another tweet.

The White House announced on Sunday afternoon that the President would be going to Texas on Tuesday to survey the damage and initial disaster relief operations; it was not immediately clear what cities he would visit, or how long the trip would take.

That announcement came hours after Mr. Trump had seemingly decided to wait on a trip to the Lone Star State, with the forecast for torrential rains continuing for several days.

"I will be going to Texas as soon as that trip can be made without causing disruption. The focus must be life and safety," Mr. Trump tweeted.

All over the Houston area, U.S. Coast Guard assets were helping pluck people from their flooded homes - work that brought reminders of similar rescues at this time 12 years ago, after Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.

On the ground, disaster resources were not only pouring in from the federal government, but also from other cities and states.

What was notable about this tweet from Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX) is that the help from Los Angeles came from L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn, a Democrat who was a colleague of Poe's in the Congress, up until last year.

One problem is the bad weather associated with Harvey does not seem to be going away anytime soon, as it will keep raining in the Houston area, as heavy rain is also now beginning to impact Louisiana, with flooding reported on Sunday Night in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

"Ongoing catastrophic and life-threatening flooding will continue across southeastern Texas," the National Weather Service reported on Sunday night, predicting an additional rainfall of "15 to 25 inches."

"The flood threat is spreading farther east into Louisiana," the Weather Service added.