AUSTIN - President Donald Trump and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have granted Texas Governor Greg Abbott's request for a presidential disaster declaration due to Hurricane Harvey making landfall in Texas.

President Trump made the announcement on Twitter on Friday evening.

The declaration will provide help from the federal government to victims of the storm in Texas.

"I want to thank the President and FEMA for their quick response in granting this disaster declaration," Gov. Abbott said in a statement. "We will continue to work with our federal and local partners on all issues relating to this storm, and I encourage Texans to continue heeding all warnings from local officials." </s> LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Friday signed a disaster proclamation for the state of Texas as Hurricane Harvey began to move onto the coast.

Trump said on Twitter that he had signed the declaration at the request of Texas Governor Greg Abbott, adding that doing so "unleashes the full force of government help." </s> Texas Governor Greg Abbott is giving an update to the amount of devastation that Texas is facing in the wake of Harvey. The hurricane made landfall in Texas as category 4 storm and brought devastating winds and torrential rain. The storm has weakened but continues to dump catastrophic amounts of rain on the Houston area. More than 20 inches have fallen in most areas with high rising waters and bayous are overflowing or rising.

The need for rescues and help has had 911 lines overflowing with caller traffic. Officials are reminding people to only use 911 for life threatening situations. Call 311 in Houston for other information and problems. Crews are mobilizing at Tully Stadium to try and make rescue runs and other states will be lending supplies and staff to help Texans.

Governor Abbott says he has spoken to FEMA Administrator Brock Long, acting DHS Sec. Elaine Duke on coordinated response.

Governor Abbott Requests The Addition Of Counties To Presidential Disaster Declaration

Governor Abbott requested that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) add 12 Texas counties to the Presidential Disaster Declaration granted last week. The original request, which was quickly granted by FEMA, will provide Individual Assistance, Public Assistance and Hazard Mitigation to Texas counties affected by the storm. Governor Abbott requested that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) add 12 Texas counties to the Presidential Disaster Declaration granted last week. The original request, which was quickly granted by FEMA, will provide Individual Assistance, Public Assistance and Hazard Mitigation to Texas counties affected by the storm.

The Presidential Disaster Declaration previously included Bee, Goliad, Kleberg, Nueces, San Patricio, and Refugio counties. In addition to this request, the Governor has already issued a state disaster declaration for 50 Texas counties in response to the storm. </s> This storm is not a joke. Don’t try to wait it out.

Gov. Greg Abbott asked President Trump on Friday for a presidential disaster declaration in advance of Hurricane Harvey’s landfall, which would allow federal monies to flow to the areas heavily damaged by the storm.

“This is going to be a major disaster,” Abbott said after a briefing from emergency officials at the Texas Department of Public Safety. “My goal is to make it through this storm in a way that we lose no lives.”

During a news conference about final preparations, Abbott called upon residents along coastal Texas to strongly consider leaving — even if they are not in an area with mandatory evacuations.

“You need to strongly consider evacuating,” Abbott told reporters. “There will be a tremendous amount of rain dropped upon miles and miles of Texas.”

Abbott spent much of the morning on a conference call with emergency officials from local jurisdications from across the coastal region, who briefed him on their readiness. </s> Brazos, Grimes, Madison, Montgomery and Washington counties join a list of others mentioned in Governor Greg Abbott's disaster proclamation Saturday.

The Governor addressed the state around 1:00 p.m. to give an update on damage created by Hurricane Harvey. Earlier this week, Abbott declared a disaster in 30 counties set to be hit by the storm. During his press conference Saturday, he added another 20 counties.

For a full list of counties included in the Governor's proclamation, you can go to his website. </s> Federal assistance will be critical in the days ahead.

That’s the word from Governor Greg Abbott–who is praising FEMA for its work so far in the midst of what’s shaping up to be a major disaster for portions of the Lone Star State.

“FEMA has been very actively involved and engaged in this whole process long before the hurricane even hit ground–and because of their assistance it means that Texas will be able to begin the rebuilding process very swiftly” Abbott said, adding “We are very thankful for the swift and effective action and support that we have received from the federal government.”

Meanwhile–the Governor is watching what’s happening in Houston very closely–as flood waters continue to rise in and around that area.

“This is an all out effort on search and rescue and saving peoples lives in Houston right now” Abbott said. </s> President Trump said Sunday he would visit hurricane-hit Texas as soon as it was possible to do so without interfering with rescue efforts.

The state’s Republican governor, Greg Abbott, praised the response of federal authorities to the deadly storm, saying Texas was getting “absolutely everything we need” from the White House.

Hurricane Harvey made landfall Friday night and has since been downgraded to a tropical storm. It is blamed for at least two deaths, more than a dozen injuries, and widespread heavy flooding that has struck major cities such as Houston and Corpus Christi.

“We could not be more appreciative of what the federal government has done, from the president on down,” Abbott said on ABC’s “This Week.”

Appearing on the same program, Tom Bossert, the White House homeland security advisor, said the president’s travel would be planned so as not to interfere with lifesaving activity.

“The president wants to go to show his support,” Bossert said. “He doesn’t want to go to get in the way, and he’s been very clear about that.” </s> Texas Gov. Greg Abbott discusses impacts of the upcoming forecast and outlines relief efforts for areas affected by flooding and damage from catastrophic storm Harvey. </s> ATLANTA – President Donald Trump will be coming to Georgia to survey damage after Michael, a storm that came into the state as a hurricane and left as a tropical storm, slammed a large part of the state.

Trump spoke to Governor Nathan Deal on Wednesday about the impacts of Michael while aboard Air Force One. Trump is expected to visit the affected areas of Michael early next week.

The president also spoke to Alabama Governor Kay Ivey and Florida Governor Rick Scott. Trump offered any federal resources necessary to the states.

As of Thursday morning, Michael was in the Carolinas as a tropical storm after moving through Florida and Georgia.

This comes as Trump has declared a state of emergency in several Georgia counties after Michael ripped through much of the state.

In a press release issued Thursday, the White House ordered federal assistance for response efforts. The president's actions authorize the Federal Emergency Management Agency to "authorize, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency."

Several counties will receive 75 percent federal funding due to this designation, including:

Baker, Bleckley, Burke, Calhoun, Colquitt, Crisp, Decatur, Dodge, Dooly, Dougherty, Early, Emanuel, Grady, Houston, Jefferson, Jenkins, Johnson, Laurens, Lee, Macon, Miller, Mitchell, Pulaski, Seminole, Sumter, Terrell, Thomas, Treutlen, Turner, Wilcox, and Worth. Emergency protective measures, limited to direct federal assistance will be provided at 75 percent funding in the counties of Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Baldwin, Ben Hill, Berrien, Bibb, Brantley, Brooks, Bryan, Bulloch, Butts, Camden, Candler, Charlton, Chatham, Chattahoochee, Clarke, Clay, Clinch, Coffee, Columbia, Cook, Crawford, Echols, Effingham, Elbert, Evans, Glascock, Glynn, Greene, Hancock, Irwin, Jasper, Jeff Davis, Jones, Lamar, Lanier, Liberty, Lincoln, Long, Lowndes, Marion, McDuffie, McIntosh, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Muscogee, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Peach, Pierce, Putnam, Quitman, Randolph, Richmond, Schley, Screven, Stewart, Talbot, Taliaferro, Tattnall, Taylor, Telfair, Tift, Toombs, Twiggs, Upson, Ware, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Webster, Wheeler, Wilkes, and Wilkinson.

Vice President Mike Pence was set to visit Atlanta on Thursday to campaign for Secretary of State Brian Kemp who is running for Governor. Pence had to postpone his trip due to Michael.

In a statement Thursday in the storm's aftermath, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal first addressed the "unfortunate loss of life" after an 11-year-old girl died after a tree fell on a home in Seminole County.

Her name has not been released.

Deal said there are an estimated 450,000 customers without power statewide. Cleanup crews from the state forestry service are focusing on debris removal so crews can repair power lines.

The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) said that 127 state roads are closed due to tree debris in the roadway. The Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) is working with telecommunications carriers to assess the damage to cell towers statewide.

Georgia's agricultural industry is one of the hardest-hit, according to Gary Black, the state commissioner of agriculture.

"Our worst dreams have been realized," Black said. "It is a very serious day for agriculture."

Black said 53 poultry houses have been destroyed in southwest Georgia and there is widespread damage to local agricultural operations.

► UPLOAD | Send us your weather pictures here

► Download the FREE 11Alive News app now in the iTunes store or on Google Play.

► Have a news tip? Email news@11alive.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed. </s> HONOLULU: US President Donald Trump on Thursday (Jun 14) approved federal emergency housing aid and other relief for victims of the six-week-old Kilauea Volcano eruption on Hawaii's Big Island, where hundreds of homes have been destroyed, state officials said.

The approval came a day after Governor David Ige formally requested assistance for an estimated 2,800 residents who have lost their homes to lava flows or were forced from their dwellings under evacuation orders since Kilauea rumbled back to life on May 3.

Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim has said that rivers of molten rock spewed from volcanic fissures at the foot of Kilauea have engulfed roughly 600 homes. The governor's office put the number of residences destroyed at 455.

Either tally marks the greatest number of homes claimed over such a short period by Kilauea - or by any other volcano in Hawaii's modern history - far surpassing the 215 structures consumed by lava in an earlier eruption cycle that began in 1983 and continued nearly nonstop for three decades, experts say.

The latest volcanic eruption also stands as the most destructive in the United States since at least the cataclysmic 1980 explosion of Mount St. Helens in Washington state that reduced hundreds of square miles to wasteland.

The geographical footprint of Kilauea's current upheaval is much smaller, covering nearly 6,000 acres, or just over 9 square miles (2,400 hectares) of the Big Island in lava, an area roughly seven times Central Park in Manhattan.

No specific sum of money was sought by the governor for federal disaster aid, and no dollar figure was attached to the package Trump approved under the Individuals and Households Programme, administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser newspaper reported this week that eligible homeowners and renters could get up to US$34,000 each.

The programme provides grants to displaced residents to secure temporary housing while their homes are repaired or rebuilt. Assistance can also be obtained for repair and replacement costs.

In addition to housing assistance, Trump approved relief from several other FEMA programs, including crisis counselling, unemployment benefits and legal aid.

Trump previously issued a major disaster declaration weeks ago authorizing money from FEMA public assistance grants for the County of Hawaii, the island's local governing authority.

Residents will be able to register for assistance at a disaster recovery centre that will open on Friday at the Kea‘au High School Gymnasium. The centre will be jointly operated by Hawaii County, the State of Hawaii and FEMA.

His expansion of FEMA assistance came as the Kilauea eruption entered its 43rd day on Thursday.

In addition to lava and toxic sulphur dioxide gas spewing from about two-dozen fissures on the eastern flank of the volcano, daily periodic explosions of ash from the crater at Kilauea's summit have created a nuisance and health hazard to communities downwind.

Volcanic smog, or vog, carried aloft by the winds has hampered air quality for parts of the island and been detected as far away as the western Pacific island of Guam.

The volcanic activity at Kilauea's summit has also triggered thousands of mostly small-scale earthquakes that have added to the jitters of residents living nearby and damaged facilities at the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, the island's biggest attraction. Most of the park remains closed.

A report from the governor accompanying his request for federal aid documented the larger toll taken on residents of the island's volcano-stricken Puna district, including disruption of power, communications and drinking water infrastructure.

It cited an uptick in reports of residents "experiencing acute mental health effects of fear, anxiety and stress" as the crisis drags on with no end in sight.

With about one-fifth of Puna's population displaced by the eruption, the disaster has created a "housing crisis in a rental market that was already severely constrained," the report said.

In other economic impacts, the report cited losses of nearly US$37 million in vacation rentals and US$14 million from agriculture, including half of the state's entire cut-flower industry and 80 per cent of its papaya crop.
At Governor Greg Abbott's request, President Trump issues a disaster proclamation for the state, freeing up federal aid for the worst-affected areas.