Transcripts For CNNW CNN Newsroom With Brooke Baldwin 20170828

And those are just the most immediate steps. Importantly, this is a place that texas and fema will be involved in for a long, long time. We will be here until we can restore this region as back to normal as possible. Or as we discussed at our meeting earlier, we need to recognize that its going to be a new normal. It will be a new and different normal for this entire region. But we will not stop until we get as far as we can. I want to the national fema administrator, but i want to explain a couple details that the citizens need to know about. As governor, i have made a state disaster declaration for 54 counties across the state of texas. In order for a disaster declaration to become a federal disaster declaration, it requires certain financial threshholds to be met. Those financial thresholds have been met in 18 counties. There are 18 counties in the state of texas that i made a federal disaster declaration for that the president has granted. With that president ial grant triggers the involvement of t fema. There are a lot of people in your viewing area who may not know if they are on the federal declaration disaster list. I want to read the counties out for you, bee county, goliet, cleburne, noasis, aransas, resoria, calhoun, chambers, fort bend, galveston, harris, jackson, liberty, madagorda, victoria and wharton. Those are the counties that currently qualify for a federal disaster declaration. Depending upon what is learned in weeks and days going forward, there may be more counties added to that list. The reason why this is important is because if a county is on the federal disaster declaration list, there will be an abundance of resources that come from the federal government to aid people in those counties. I want to provide you an address on the website that hopefully youll hear everybody else speak about, because this needs to be every persons goto location on the internet. It is disasterassistance. Org. Im sorry,. Gov. Im sorry. Disasterassistance. Gov. Disasterassistance. Gov. This is brock long, the national fema administrator, who will be reemphasizing that and telling you more about it. I brought it up because Everyone Needs to know this. Because there are people out there who are desperately trying to get, lets say, funds they need to be able to stay in a hotel. Because they have no place to reside. One of the places you can go is to disasterassistance. Gov. Brock will explain more about ways in which people can access the assistance they need, but i want to provide that to you now. Ill be happy to in moments to participate in question and answer, but at this time, i want to turn it over to senator john cornyn. Thank you, governor. Thank you for inviting me to join you here today. I want to join you in applauding the incredible leadership we have seen here at the local level and at the city level, the mayors, everybody pulling together in a typically texas fashion. A few years ago i was at the disaster in west texas and had a county commissioner come up to me to say, texas isnt just a place youre from, it describes who your family is. And i remember that regularly and especially on occasions like this. Because we are pulling together as one family of texans to try to help those who have lost their lives and their families who have lost their property, their houses and those that are in a bad way right now as a result of this hurricane. But i have to say that Governor Abbott and his team working out of these Emergency Management Operation Centers in austin, texas, chief kid and others, have done a tremendous job. But it would not be possible were it without the support and leadership of Governor Abbott, but also folks throughout the state of local government. But it is, youll hear in a moment from the free ma administrator, the federal Emergency Management agency manager, this is going to be a long haul. Were trying to save peoples lives. Were trying to make sure they have a place to live, safe water to drink, sewage, electricity and the like. But this is going to be a long challenge. And, in addition to the website that the governor mentioned, disast disast disasterassistance. Gov, some people may not have access to internet coverage because they dont have electricity, but if they can make a phone call, they can call 1800621fema. Did i get that right . Sure did. 1800621fema. Thats the first step that people need to take in order to get the assistance through the federal Emergency Management agency that theyre going to want to have if they qualify. So again, let me just close with this, thanks, governor, for your tremendous leadership. And i know President Trump and his entire cabinet have been very forwardleaning and very aggressive in their response. But the only way were going to get through this together as a texas family is to make sure were lashed together at the local level, at the state level and at the federal level. And i can assure you that we are. Thank you. Thank you, senator. Good day, folks. As i have been saying, Emergency Management is about partnership. And the bottom line is these guys around me, these county judges, these mayors, these First Responders, the disasters always begin and end with these guys. When their capacity has been exceeded, the governor steps in with his support and provides tremendous leadership and capacity in. And my support is designed to backfill the governors needs and to make sure we are here to support you guys and were going to be here for several years helping you guys recover. I have guys on the ground already here in Corpus Christi and around the area. And while all eyes are on houston watching the unfolding flooding, just north of Corpus Christi, were fully aware that port avan saransas and rockport the full brunt of the storm surge and theres a tremendous amount of damage. To this point, were continuing to support the lifesaving efforts. We have personally rolled in 8,500, roughly 8,500, federal Staff Members, people from around the federal government, to be in texas and some of those are in louis, just making sure that were anticipating additional issues that occur there. Of those 8500, about 1100 are out performing search and rescue. Its my job to coordinate the resources of the federal government. You have seen the coast guard choppers, were back filling the National Guard as well, support from National Guard to customs and Border Control in town, we have all kinds of people providing security to all types of things that are going on from the federal government. The other thing that you are starting to see is, the state of texas, you guys are very capable as a state. We all know it, and you have tremendous capabilities providing lifesustaining commodities. We are also backfilling that. We brought in, already we have over its 2 million liters worth of water, 10 million meals, 2,000 tarps ready to back fill the needs of the citizens here. And im proud to say, already north of here in rockport, trucks are already arriving. Were pushing them out through the points of distribution on behalf of our state and local partners as well. And this is, this is the way its supposed to work. Were a unified effort. Were a team. And we all depend on each other going forward. As the governor said of the 18 counties, its incredibly important. I want to continue to push this message. The first step to do, if you reside in one of those 18 counties under the individual assistance disaster declaration that the president swiftly approved for the governor, start to register now online first. Disasterassistance. Gov. If thats not working, then again, as the senator suggested, 1800621fema and start the process there. Additionally, i have over 1300 Staff Members connected to the nfip, the National Flood Insurance Program in the state. Obviously, those people are starting to disperse through the state. We would also ask you, if youre an nfip holder, go ahead and contact your Insurance Agent to activate your policies. And were prepared to start processing claims on that as well. Right now were also continuing to help with power restoration. And folks, as the senator suggests, this is going to be a very long event. Youre going to get frustrated, youre going to be tired and your routine is going to be disrupted for weeks. We are striving for a new normal here. But fema is with you and were here to support you, governor, as well as all the local judges and mayors. Were doing our best. Thank you. A few last things and then some questions. One piece of news, and that is today, i authorized the deployment. All of the texas National Guard to address the challenges that texans are facing all the way from Corpus Christi to houston, texas. That would include all of the 12,000 available members of the texas National Guard. We want to ensure that we are doing all we can to maintain safety and security of everybody in the entire state of texas. Lastly, and that is, one thing that i often say, and that is our lives are not determined by the ways in which we are challenged, but by how we respond to the challenges we face. Every time i see texans challenged, im always impressed to see the way that we respond. To see the way that our fellow texans would take out their own boats and go rescue stranded houstonians who otherwise would are drowned, there are so many heroes in houston who literally saved the lives of their fellow texans. The same is true of what happened in this region where the hurricane first hit texas. Texans helping texans. That is what we do. As a state. And i dont think anybody does it better. Im so proud to be a texan. And proud to be associated with the men and women who have helped their friends and neighbors during this catastrophe over this past week. Knowing who we are and what we are, i know that well get through this, Even Stronger than where we were before the storm hit. With that, ill be able to take some questions. Yes. [ inaudible question ] i would have to direct you to the city of houston on that. Sure. Reporter i know this is a work in progress and an ongoing situation. But so far, how would you grade the governments response . The state of texas has been dealing with the federal government for about seven to ten days at least before the hurricane hit. On a daily basis. Frequently, multiple times during the day. Ive spoken with the president on multiple occasions with his cabinet members ranging from the secretary of health and human services, homeland security, transportation, energy, im leaving some out. But also the fema administrator. And i would have to grade the federal governments response as an aplus. This is, if not the largest, has to be categorized as one of the largest disasters america has ever faced. And to see the Swift Response from the federal government is pretty much unparalleled. So we are grateful for what has happened so far, but we know, were still early in the process. We need to maintain this. But a second component of it is the way that leaders at the local level have responded. These are people who are living off of just a few hours of sleep a night. And they have one concern. And that is for the men and women they represent in their towns and counties. And its because of their commitment to the people they represent, that that coupled with the federal governments response, we are doing as well as we are. Yes. Reporter what is your advice do you think people should have evacuated . Decisions about evacuation are something that are behind us. We are what we are right now. And we need to focus on first protecting life and doing all we can to prerescue those who are danger. Second, get them to an evacuation center. And third, help them build and bridge to where their future will be. We have time for two more. Yes. Listen, the first challenge is to make sure we get every person to a secure place. And then second, its going to be the long period of rebuilding our communities. Thats something you cant just snap your fingers and make happen. Its something that everybody that you see up here together with us, were all going to be in this together. And its going to take a long time doing it. And so we will need the patience and cooperation of everybody in this region as we go through that process to rebuild the community. [ inaudible question ] i personally have spoken with fishes and my staff has also spoken with officials from the government of mexico, and yes, they have offered as sistanceas. They said, whatever we need. Whether it could be boats, whether it could be food, they said they had been participants in helping with katrina. And they were going to give some more precise ways that my staff will be communicating with them specific needs. One more right here. Yes. Reporter governor, near aransas pass, what will be offered to the residents there who have lost their homes and cars, will they be moved to a shelter or bussed somewhere else eventually . What is the plan for those people . Im going to answer part of that and answer brock to answer part of it. Lets divide this up. Let me tell you, also, and i should have mentioned this to you, we have come here, you may or may not know, but we will be departing here going to rockport. So i will get to see firsthand what challenges they are facing. But you mentioned buses, we do have buses available where we are evacuating people. And there are multiple locations. I personally greeted people who got on those buses from Corpus Christi and other areas around here that went to san antonio. There are also buses that go to austin, to dallas, to other locations. So there are multiple evacuation centers. People can get on buses and go to at no charge. So that is one. Two, is for those who are still here, there obviously is a need for food and water as quickly as possible. We will be establishing, if its not already established, which i think it is, points of distribution for water and supplies they need. Separate from that, part of your question must be answered by the fema administrator. Sure. So let me take a second to ex a explain this. The state of texas is about to undergo one of the largest Recovery Housing missions that the nation has ever seen. Once you start to wrap up the life Safety Mission and youre moving citizens who may be trapped or isolated p youre trying to get them to a shelter, youre trying to minimize the time that they spend in that shelter and the governor proactively turned on whats called the Transitional Shelter Assistance Program under individual assistance. This allows anyone in a shelter or someone who does not have financial means within these 18 counties to be able to receive assistance to hopefully find a hotel or a motel or to be able to eventually rent. The goal service of this is, if we cant put you back in your home because it is destroyed or the floodwaters are there and will be there for a while, im going to get you out of the longterm sheltering and youre going to try to, rent them if you got them is what we try to say, lets try to rend out different facilities and be able to place people in those types of places. In some cases, we have to look at alternative Housing Solutions as well. And then, the last resort is to bring in manufactured homes and travel trailers, which we are utilizing the defense production act to help us purchase and have priority to be able to amass those, bring them into the state. But that is a long process. We dont just start dragging in manufactured homes and travel trailers right off the bat. They are not going to be on your property tomorrow by any means. This is a process where you have to be into the individual assistance. The goal is to try to find you a temporary, lasting solution that works. Its within where your job. Is and thats what were working on. So its a long process. Housing is going to be very frustrating in texas. And we have to set the expectations, but we already have disaster Housing Assessment teams on site. Were already working very proactively with the state. I just got off the phone with secretary carson and hud. They are going to be actively involve in this as well. Thanks, guys. We have to go. Thank you. Thank you. All right. So that was the governor of texas, Governor Abbott there, alongside brock long, who is the fema chief. And also senator cornyn there of texas briefing everyone on the latest. A couple of notes, the governor did say that the meeting he was having was interrupted by a phone call from the president of the United States. We know trump is heading to the texas area tomorrow. And so he was just passing along the president s gratitude for all the leaders, the First Responders and i think what they stressed the most is that texans are in this for weeks if not months here in terms of housing and dealing with all the waterrelated issues that are from this catastrophic flooding. Soon President Trump will speak publicly for the First Time Since harvey made landfall as a category 4 hurricane turning to massive parts of texas including houston. You can see the pictures behind me turning into this inland sea. At least six suspected stormrelated deaths blamed on harvey in houston and rockport. Forecasters predict somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 to 25 inches of rain will still fall from now until friday bringing totals in some places to more than 4 feet. And as that rain continues to fall in the floodwaters continuing to rise, so, too, do the challenges emerging in the event that is already catastrophic by any measure. It was over 5 feet in our house. We barely made it out. Im just so grateful that they came. We have reporters all over the story. And submerged in water, as is scott maclaine there in the houston area, knee deep, you are near youre watching the controlled release of the water from two dams . It looks pretty bad where you are. Reporter yeah, thats right, brooke. We are essentially standing in what is an extension of the attics reservoir. Ill show you quakely where we are. About 200 yards down, you can see reddish orangish awning there. Just beyond there, theres a golf course that serves as sort of an extension of the redder sorry. Its flooded, were flooded, theres no dry land between here and there. If you were here earlier this morning, you would be able to drive down that street. People were driving down here with pretty regular cars, not big trucks or highwater vehicles. You wouldnt have very much luck if you were trying to do that today. You can see, it is even worse here in this part of the street. Theres a rescue taking place just down this road. So a couple of Police Officers came by about 20 minutes ago saying that there were two elderly folks who were inside their home and maybe needed some help. So this may be those elderly people. And if you see the other people, theres a green seadoo and a couple other folks, a lot of the people are volunteers and dont live in this neighborhood. They just wanted to come out and do their part to help out. And that is what were seeing here today, brooke. People just, if you have a boat, if you have a kayak, even if you dont, people are still just wanting to come and help out. Well, what were seeing down here, though, earlier there was volunteer firefighters who had a highwater vehicle. Once you get further down this street, though, those highwater vehicles, its still too high for that. And so its posing challenges for people in trying to get people out. But look, let me take you over here, this brown house over here, i dont know if you can see that, we spoke to the folks in there earlier, the alvarez family, they were part of the people who decided to take this voluntary evacuation seriously. The family of four. Young kids as well. They were packing up and getting out earlier this morning. But a lot of other people that we spoke to said, im going to stay. Even if they got water on their floor, even though they have soggy carpets, some people have a foot of water. They still dont want to go anywhere and put their things up in the attic or up on tables and furniture to keep them dry, but a lot of people say, brooke, this is my home, i dont want to leave it if i dont have to. Its incredible. Its incredible just to see here. And sit here, from my perch, may dry perch, looking at you and the pictures of those living it in texas. And the fact that you were able to catch that rescue midrescue, hopefully thats a scene playing on all around the most devastated areas of houston and beyond. Scott, thank you to you and your crew for wading in the water for us just to show how bad it is. Forecasters are predicting no letup for texas. This storm is expected to gather more moisture before making the unwelcomed return to land. Chad myers is watching this from the Weather Center for us. And then i also saw, chad, they urged the National Weather Service Flash flood warnings to be extended in six texas counties. Right. Because its still raining. There was a break this morning where the rain really did taper off nicely. And it did look like maybe one or two inches from houston all the way back to beaumont earlier today. Now the number is going up because these storms itself, the center is right there, now half of the storm is back over the gulf of mexico. So it has half the strength. Its going to try to gather more momentum, gather more rain and get it right there into louisiana and even into parts of arkansas by the time we talk about thursday and friday. But thats the new track. This storm does go offshore. This is what i believe the rainfall will look lick. This is a computergenerated model of what the radar should look like overnight. And im concerned for new orleans. Because this looks very similar to the night you and i talked, brooke. And that this happened here twoandahalf nights ago. And it can happen in new orleans tonight. Im thinking five to eight inches in new orleans in about a 12hour period. Well, will the pumps handle it . I dont know. Do they know . Im not sure either. Look at lake chals rles in beaumont. They could see five to eight inches overnight. The swath of rain right here slightly west of new orleans, but theres enough of the red areas that im not happy about what new orleans may go through tonight. And now were seeing numbers, almost 40 inches of rainfall. We keep talking about texas, but other totally accurate to point out louisiana. We know they are feeling it as well. And we were just talking to scott maclaine in houston and talking about the release of the water from the reservoirs, what is the impact of that . Ah, okay. Mr. Mcclain was actually in the reservoir. He was not where the release was happening, where there could be more flooding because of the release, he was on the backside of where the water is coming in, not coming out. Heres texas, theres all the rivers. Now im going through for you, theres houston proper. These two little areas right through here, they are green on the map, because 98 days out of 100, they are green. They are not filled with water. They are just grass and trees. So there is a berm, dirt berm, we call it a dam, if you will. There, there, there. And he was standing back here. Theres another reservoir right there. And thats holding back the water thats coming in. All of these rivers are trying to fill it up. And the rivers are filling up the reservoir. So this is flooding neighborhoods all the way back through here are flooding. The water is coming in here to barker, this is adex, the water goes out of the Barker Reservoir and into the buffalo bayou. So you must release the water thats here because its backing up and flooding the neighborhoods behind it. If you dont let the water out at some point in time, the water will go around the valleys, the levees anyway. And it will just bust them. So you must let the pressure out. So its that balancing act. Do we flood the neighborhoods here . Or do we let the water out and then flood more neighborhoods here . And thats the rub. If youre already getting water in the neighborhoods, they need to let the water out a little bit. Thats what reservoirs do. You fill them up and drain them out. Then you fill them up and drain them out. Well, so far we have all this water, so much water pouring in. You must let some out while its pouring in. And so far right now, more is coming in thans going out, but the carmy corps has a lots of work to do. Yeah, they do. They are sharpening their pencils, how much do we let out . Doing the math, exactly. Exactly. Chad, thank you, as always, so much. I know a lot of you are sitting there thinking, how can i help these people . Guess what, you can. Cnn has a list of vetted organizations on our impact your world website go. To cnn. Com impact. Thats cnn. Com impact for ways you can help. Next, the desperate situation for people trapped behind these impassable roads. An indepth look at which rescue routes are blocked by floodwater. And this is kind of deja vu for one woman who left for houston after losing her home because of Hurricane Katrina, which by the way was 12 years ago tomorrow. The catastrophic flooding is creeping now towards her new house. Well talk to her. Youre watching cnns special coverage of harvey. Im brooke bald wirn. Baldwin. At whole foods market, we believe in food thats naturally beautiful, fresh and nutritious. So there are no artificial colors, no artificial flavors, no artificial preservatives in any of the food we sell. We believe in real food. Whole foods market. Parts a and b and want more coverage, guess what . You could apply for a Medicare Supplement Insurance Plan whenever you want. No enrollment window. No waiting to apply. That means now may be a great time to shop for an aarp Medicare Supplement Insurance Plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. Medicare doesnt cover everything. And like all standardized Medicare Supplement Insurance Plans, these help cover some of what medicare doesnt pay. So dont wait. Call now to request your free decision guide. It could help you find the aarp Medicare Supplement plan that works for you. 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That is about 4 of the u. S. Population. They are feeling pressure from the rainfall and in some cases as much rain as we normally get in the entire year. And this is the problem, if you look at houston, a big metroplex here, more than half the people here are in this area in general. Like any sort of metroplex with lots of roads coming in and out, many roads around here, but take a look right in this area. This part of the city, right now it has around 350 places where roads are under water. And you can see this, brooke, theres not one major artery coming in or cutting through here that does not have an area where this significant standing water is on the road. Thats why when we talk about all the things that have been going on here, its not just a matter of the water falling down and people being in their houses and needing to be rescued. But this is the result. We have been watching the pictures all the time. Essentially what happens is the floods this circumstance, because houston is very flat, turn into bayous. This is where the water drains and it gets impossible to get out there to help those who need the help. The volume of help and the volume of people, and as long as the rain keeps falling, those people remain trapped. The job just keeps moving forward and they have to get more boats and try to deal wit. On the note of volume, i understand there could be some manmade flooding affecting some folks as well. Explain that for us. This is what chad was talking about a minute ago. If you talk about the reservoirs here that chad was mentioning on this end, the purpose of the reservoir was to keep water from flowing all the way down to town and do a lot of damage here. They thought, well catch water here and control it. But as the city has spread out and as there are more and more people, its very flat. So when you have this much rain, essentially the water just has nowhere to go. So they caught it here for a while to try to prevent flooding down here, but then as it began to wash back up to here and to actually get into other neighborhoods, they have to let some go. So when we talk about manmade flooding, thats what were saying. When you let that go, whether you hold it or not, its got to go somewhere and potentially that means more areas down here getting water, even as they wait for it to recede. Until this rain stops, thats the main problem. Theres just nowhere for it to go. And with the roads all closed, theres nowhere for all the people to go either. Tom, thank you. I have another guest standing by who did not hesitate to evacuate her home in dickinson, texas, just before harvey made landfall. In large part, because heartbreakingly, shes been through this before. She lost her home during Hurricane Katrina back in 2005 and chose to locate to houston after that storm. Today shes driving away from the rising floodwaters, six months pregnant and with her 18 monday son in tow. Kate is with me now on the phone. Kate, my goodness, thank you so much for jumping on the phone with me to share your story during a stressful time. Youre welcome. Reporter are you en route . Where are you headed, to new orleans . I am. We actually just walked in to my parents home in new orleans about five minutes ago. What a warm, dry, welcome for you with your parents. Yes. Do you know anything about your home back in dickinson . Well, we heard yesterday, everything was all the cars on the street were totally destroyed. We hadnt received any water in the homes as of yesterday afternoon. But just 20 minutes ago we heard we were under a mandatory evacuation as of 2 00 p. M. Today. So thus youre with your parents. In dickinson, texas, were under a mandatory evacuation. So im not sure what is going on. We just found out and are trying to put everything together and process it as it all comes in. You talk about processing it, i read a quote from earlier today saying, i cant cry anymore. How are you feeling . Today is better. When we got up at 2 00 a. M. Yesterday morning, we watched the news for 14 hours. And it was literally like watching everything that i had already been through one time happen right again in front of my eyes. So it was really hard. Yeah. I cant imagine. So where were you, you were in louisiana 12 years ago tomorrow when katrina hit. Yep, thats correct. The same movie playing out, at least, though, youre okay. Yes. Thats all that is important. I can say one thing, things are replaceable, family members and being safe is top priority, which is why i did not hesitate to leave when i did. What do you need . How can people help folks like you, kate . For me, im okay right now. I have tons of support in new orleans with my family and friends. But there are numerous people in dickinson and in the houston area who are going to need way more help than ill ever need. They have tons of shelters listed on facebook, even the cajun navy who came out there to rescue, has listed numerous places and phone numbers that you can call. You know, we had so much help down here. And i know it will just turn around and get it back 100 again. Did you ever think you would be returning to new orleans after katrina because you would be fleeing a storm in houston . Never. Kate, for people who dont live in areas of the country that so totally are susceptible to flooding, i think people have trouble understanding why folks choose not to evacuate or how they become stranded in their homes. Can you just talk a little bit about that and just how talk about how quickly the water rushes in . It is so it happens so fast. And youre literally in moments of panic. When somebody says, mandatory evacuation, its not a joke. It shouldnt be taken lightly. And you should leave right away. Take the most Important Documents you have and the most memorable things that you need that you want to keep forever, and leave. And leave Everything Else that can be replaced behind. I dont think many people, even in my little city in dickinson, i was made fun of for leaving because, i quote, in my area, its never flooded before. No rain comes in the house ever. And then we had people being rescued off their roof. So like i said, after katrina, it made me a realist. I no e anything can happen at any given time, so i take zero chances. And i think that anyone who stays, you know, should realize the mistakes they made and learn from this. Last question, kate, what is your message to people who like you 12 years ago will lose everything . We went through it once and came back stronger than ever. And i know that being in the houston area will have many people who will reach out to us and help again and rebuild and come back Even Stronger. I also said in another interview i did that race, religion, none of it matters. Everyone works together to help everyone. And the community literally will be bigger and stronger and prevail over this. Stay safe in new orleans. Its a special city. Well let your parents take care of you and spoil you. And good luck with baby number two, kate. Im planning on it. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Kate quarrella on the phone for me in new orleans because her home is not a good situation in dickinson, texas, just southeast of houston. In less than an hour, President Trump is expected to answer some questions on harveys aftermath during a joint News Conference at the white house. We are live there with a preview of what he might say. And also a look ahead to his big trick in texas tomorrow with the first lady, melania trump. Its time for the biggest sale of the year with the new sleep number 360 smart bed. 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Be the readiest. Welcome back. Special coverage here in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. And all of this devastating flooding and rainfall that many cities along the coastline are facing. Just a couple minutes from now, President Trump will be speaking publicly for the first time on this disaster during a joint News Conference with the leader of finland. Here are the two World Leaders greeting one another moments ago just outside the white house. The president had been voicing his thoughts on harvey so far through twitter. At least 20 messages on the storm. Several of them just thanking rescuers and emergency officials. He also tweeted this sunday, quote, i will be going to texas as soon as that trip can be made without causing disruption. The focus must be life and safety. And so now we know the president and the first lady are headed to the flooded areas of texas tomorrow. Well go to the white house to my colleague, sarah murray. Sarah, well have to interrupt both of us in a second as we get the video of the president sitting through with the president of finland talking about harvey. Tell me whats on tap for tomorrow for them. Reporter well, thats right. The president and First Lady Melania Trump will be visiting Corpus Christi. They are trying to visit areas where the search and Recovery Missions are no longer underway. They dont want to interfere with that and draw resources away from that. Look, this is a big moment for this president. This is the first time hes facing a natural disaster. We havent heard much from him aside from on twitter. And that video youre going to get, those are the first remarks we see from the president on camera addressing this situation, talking about the historic flooding. In a little preview of the video were about to get, he also mentioned hes not only going to go to texas on tuesday, but that hes hoping to make a trip to texas as well as potentially to louisiana over the weekend, maybe on saturday. Here we go, sarah. Ill be going to texas tomorrow. I look very much forward to it. Things are being handled really well. The spirit is incredible of the people. The coordination between all of the different services, as you know, has been going very well. Great respect for the governor, hes done an incredible job. And i look forward to the forw dont know exactly what sections. Well be notifying you soon, but well be traveling through certain parts and we may actually go back on saturday. Depending on where the storm goes, we may also go to louisiana on saturday. [ inaudible question ] its the biggest ever. Its historic. Its really like texas, if you think about it. But it is a historic amount of water in particular. Theres never been anything like it. So the people are handling it amazingly well, and the people of texas, as you know, have really persevered. And when you watch the spirit and the enthusiasm and helping each other, the teamwork, its really been something for people to say even in finland they would say its been pretty incredible what theyve been able to do. Weve noticed that, yes. Its wonderful. Well be leaving tomorrow at about 8 30 in the morning. [ inaudible question ] weve done quite a few cabinet meetings to make sure everything is coordinated. Were dealing with congress. As you know, its going to be a very expensive situation because we want to take care of the people of texas and louisiana when that happens. Well see what happens with the flow. The flow seems to be heading toward louisiana right now as we speak. But well be there for the people of louisiana also very much so. Well see you tomorrow, and i guess youll see both of us in a couple of minutes in the east room. Thank you all very much. Were going to take that joint News Conference on the lead here in a couple minutes where youll hear him address harvey a little more off the top. Just to put a button on our conversation s conversation, the president leaves tomorrow morning for texas, and he alluded to a second possible visit next weekend. Reporter thats right, its going to be a test to see not only how the president interacts not only with victims of the ground. He is a commander in chief along with a comforter in chief. Does he go to congress and ask for additional relief . People are worried that the fema funds will run out. This is obviously a huge flood, hugely expensive as the president pointed out there, so there will be a number of challenges for him as he goes through the various chapters of dealing with a catastrophe. As you heard from local leaders on the ground there, a catastrophe they expect will take a very, very long time to deal with. Sara murray, thank you from the white house. Quick break. 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Im on the way back from austin to victoria, texas. I picked up a passenger here. I stopped for gas and this guy was following me down the road. When i stopped, he jumped in the jeep. I really need help trying to find this guys owner. Well call him harvey, but i need help trying to find his owner, so if you can share, tweet, whatever you got to do to help. I found him in runge, texas. Runge. Thanks. Hundreds of animals are now getting help at local shelters. Officer shannon sims is the director of the shelter and he is with me now. Shannon, thanks so much for taking a couple minutes. We were talking so much about people, but pets matter. As a dog owner, i would be debilitated if, you know, you lose your little cat, dog, whatever. Tell me some of your stories. Were seeing lots of animals come in. Weve taken in approximately 200 animals so far and expecting a lot more coming down the pike, obviously, as the circumstances worsen in houston and folks start to kind of migrate from there. Were starting to see a lot of folks that really obviously theyre very attached to their animals. From an Animal Care Services perspective in the city of san antonio, were trying to do our very best that thats one less thing that residents in this place have to worry about. Weve actually had folks who have had absolutely no relationship with other people theyre bringing in, so theyre bringing in these individuals that they found on facebook that needed help, along with their pets and everything, and kind of helping these folks get back on their feet. So its good to see kind of the spirit of texas and staying together and working together as a team really shine through. How, then, shannon, will you get the message out . Peoples priorities are their lives, getting out of their homes, getting rescued, but how do you get the message out for people to then find their pets again . Well, the animals that are coming here, were documenting them very, very me he particular l meticulously, make being sure each animal has an id, each person has an id. Theres wristbands were putting on the pets to make sure the right pet gets back to the right owner, and again, really just making sure they dont have to worry about that and making sure they get their life back together from being displaced. What are your biggest, most immediate needs . Realistically, the city of san antonio and the First Responders have done a fantastic job. As far as from a perspective of helping this stay under control, really reach out and help an individual whether you know them or not. This is the time to reach out to a neighbor, be good citizens. Well definitely take care of those evacuees and their animals. The folks that cant get to us are the ones that need the most help from their neighbors. Officer shannon sims, director there at san antonio Animal Care Services, thank you for all youre doing. I appreciate it and im sure those pet owners do as well. Im brooke baldwin. Thank you so much for being with me here. Special coverage continues in washington. The lead with jake tapper starts right now. Good afternoon to you. I want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. Im Brianna Keeler in for jake tapper today. Were beginning with breaking news in the national lead. President trump about to hold a News Conference, this coming jst days after Hurricane Harvey slammed into the texas coast and began unloading a Staggering Amount of rain on the state. 11 trillion with a t, gallons of rain and counting. At least 7 people have died on the flood plain, and this is nowhere near over. This is when the preside w