Texas Gov. Greg Abbott agreed with FEMA’a assessment that it could be more than a year before the state is able to rebuild and recover from the damage of tropical storm Harvey.
“In maybe seven to 10 days we will be able to begin the rebuilding process. Now when that occurs, you may have heard Brock Long the FEMA administrator say this is a long term project. He is prognosticating that it could be a year or longer to go thorough this rebuilding process and I have no reason to dispute that. So the reality is, we are in this for the long haul,” Abbott said on “Morning Joe” Monday.
Abbott said there are many concerns regarding the flooding, but the state government’s main concern is to save those trapped by the storm.
“We will be focusing for the next few days of the ongoing process of search and rescue. and helping these people get out of harms way. get them to evacuation centers, some in Houston. Some of the evacuees will be sent to places like Dallas and San Antonio, but our first and foremost mission is to save lives,” he said.
Abbott also gave some warnings for those in east Texas and outside of Houston to follow the directives of local officials and take any evacuation orders seriously.
“First, listen to your local officials and any warnings they may have to evacuate. If they issue evacuation orders, heed those evacuation orders and have a plan where you will be evacuating too. Second is watch for rising water. You need to stay off of the roads if there is not an evacuation order, because there are so many deaths that occur because of people driving into rising water. If you’re in rising water, find a way to get higher and higher in your house of the space where you live,” Abbott said.
He also gave a rundown of what was most important to the relief effort.
“The most immediate need is the boats and high water vehicles we are adding. Two would be the food supplies. People need access to water and food and we are supplying that. Three would be what the people need in the evacuation centers. That includes blankets but also the medical care that we are organizing to provide them. But the main thing they will need will be this temporary housing that we are working with FEMA on to make sure these people are provided the housing they need,” Abbott concluded.
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