US President Donald Trump on Saturday (local time) visited Louisiana and Texas which have been ravaged by hurricane Laura, a category 4 storm that slammed the states located at the Gulf Coast.
He and Governor John Bel Edwards made their way down a street blocked by trees and where houses were battered by the storm, which the governor said was the most powerful hurricane to strike the state. That means it surpassed even Katrina, which was a Category 3 storm when it hit 15 years ago on Saturday, to the day.
According to the White House statement, President Trump has approved a major disaster declaration to help individuals and business owners impacted by the storm.
"President Donald Trump is in Orange, Texas, for an update on emergency operations and ongoing relief efforts. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is on the ground with water and meals, and the private sector is hard at work restoring power to thousands of residents," White House tweeted.
During Trump's visit, Texas Governor Greg Abbott told him that: "You have been there for us every step of the way, helping us. Never have I seen such a swift response to a request." Meanwhile, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is providing critical supplies to those in need--2.6 million litres of water and 1.4 million meals have been delivered thus far.
FEMA said that it is working Laura response and recovery efforts with four rescue teams are working to ensure the safety of everyone in damaged areas.
On Thursday, Trump had announced that he will travel to Louisiana and Texas after the two US Gulf states were pummeled by Hurricane Laura. "We'll probably be going on Saturday or Sunday, and we'll be heading to Texas and Louisiana and maybe an additional stop," Trump said.
Trump had also said he was ready to postpone his scheduled acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention tonight and deliver his address on Monday instead.
Moreover, he had pledged a huge national effort to rescue victims of hurricane Laura and expressed readiness to lend the US government's backing for rebuilding and repair efforts to follow.
