a president is talking, why is it so necessary to release those waters to make sure the area can recover? >> the reservoirs and dams that hold the water back you cannot let it go over top of the dam. have to let it through the outlet structure, the large covert they have in place to safely release the water in a controlled manner. if you don't to that it raises and flows over the dam. then it's uncontrolled. so watching it 247, they have men and women walking up and down the levee and the team to make sure it say. upstream and downstream interests are being balanced. >> kelly: were watching things take place here in the president doing some unscheduled stops. i misspoke, there was no evacuation. i want to make sure that is clear. that was related to another

what you and i are now discussing and that's the all important aspect that why the reservoirs, why they had to let water out in order to safeguard not only the homes but the families, the animals and everyone there in the houston area. what will they have to do in terms of recovery and rebuilding, sir? >> well, in 2006 after ca transcriba we developed a flood bridge management program and, of course, we put public safety number one and then we based on approach of idea of buying down your risks. everybody has a certain level of risks and you can never eliminate all the risks totally there. you do activities, zoning, evacuation plans and then you build levees or canals to convey

the water out, bring the risk down to a level that one, you can tolerate and, two that you can afford. it's always a balancing act between how much you can tolerate and afford and when houston begins long-term recovery, they would all take a look with federal, state and local government agencies and the people and decide to make decisions based on their assessment of risk. >> general molly is with me. >> we had been talking about where things go from here. what are the next steps? >> well, short-term, of course, is ensuring the safety of the public, getting everybody out of harm's way and in mid-term they will start rebuilding very quickly, in fact, they are dredging the ship channel and rebuilding hospitals and stores and the streets and roads and bridges have to come very quickly, so you'll see that happen and then long-term, local agency will make a decision on where to rebuild and where not

to rebuild and that'll be based on a decision, how much they can afford with the state and federal funds that flow in and look at the -- take a look at the risks. i know after katrina, we looked at 65,000 different scenarios and then looked at levels of flooding throughout the entire region, those decisions must be so difficult to make sure that those areas are not to best to be rebuilt. >> the town was flooded, wiped everything out. so we studied that area, we looked at ways that we could reduce the risk over time and one of the recommendations we layed out the red and amber and green zone. nobody should rebuild and the

green zone is probably safe, you can tolerate that and the amber zone, people could, if they had the right building codes and so i believe they took our recommendations and then the red zone, the highest risk zones probably should not be rebuilt. that's a local decision. the president is talking to more of the service members, look -- we can't hear right now. it looks like the coast guard that he's talking about judging by uniforms but getting back to what you were saying, a little bit of levity there, the president obviously trying to release stress for those men who have been working around the clock, obviously. you were talking about louisiana, we also know that they suffered a lot of damage, when you look at towns like that, city of rockport, we spoke with mayor, very emotional

interview, 65% of the city may never recover, sir, so when you look -- i'm sorry, one more time. let's listen to the president as he begins to take pictures with some of the service members. [inaudible conversations] [laughter] >> i want to thank everybody and we have army, we have everybody here, but i have to say even you guys have to admit, i hear the coast guard saved 11,000 people. think of it, almost 11,000 people by going into winds that the media was not going into unless it's a really good story

in which case they would. i want to congratulate everybody. i want to congratulate the coast guard, incredible. that's incredible. i gave the commencement speech in coast guard academy and they will come out and compete with you guys, pretty soon, you know that? i want to congratulate you guys and the army guys, this has been -- it's brutal but you have done so much for the services and for the respect and the whole world is watching. so i want to thank you, look at -- thank you fellow, thank you, everybody. thank you. [applause] >> you have done so much for the prestige of the services and the coast guard in what you have done. thank you very much. we are going to louisiana now. they're in pretty good shape. i was just with the governor. this is going oh very -- going

very well. >> the national guard is here, sir. >> we are with you a thousand. [inaudible conversations] kelly: so we've got a great opportunity and dip in and hearing president of the united states thanking army and other branches of service. this moment as the president and the first lady begin to move towards air force one as he stated on the way to louisiana, but this moment for men and women in uniform will resinate with them for the rest of the time that they get out there to do the hard work and the task of helping houston, beaumont and all of the areas in texas

recover. this would mean so much to them that they received atta-boy directly from the commander in chief. >> deserve the high praise from the commander in chief and from all of us across the nation. the president speaking there just a moment ago, said the world is watching and they have seen our military respond in a tremendous fashion. the president pointing out that some 11,000 people were saved by the coast guard there and as expected to board here and head for louisiana, he mentioned that that's where he's headed next. once he arrived, he'll be speaking with the national guard and also with the cajun navy, the folks that came out with pickup trucks and flat-bottom boats and made rescues, there have been so many people that have gone out into flood waters and saved lives and and the president having a firsthand chance in texas and soon to louisiana as we heard him say so many times, thank you, thank

you. kelly: what we have seen here is what works best for america, where -- and we are confronted by forces of nature that overwhelm us and as the president said from the moment this started, this is a time for all of us to come together across racial lines, gender lines, religious lines, partisan lines, coming together and what we have seen here today and throughout all of the -- the aftereffects of hurricane harvey is how americans, as he's talking to senator ted cruz there, and we know the battle that those two men had at the campaign trail, yet there they are standing side by side getting the task done at hand. when it comes down to things like this, america has to stand tall, dig deep and the only time we should be downing someone at

this point in time is downing to help them get up. as they look forward, there's a lot of work to be done, but this president and his vice president and his administration are ahead of the curve in getting things in place so when congress returns and hopefully congress is watching this and see what can happen when men and women come together, private, public, military, civilian, faith-base, not faith-base doing one thing, flip people up when they are down. texas is down, louisiana is down, but you can see that not only during this visit, but you can see in the hearts and minds of the governor, the leadership of texas as well as we are about to see in louisiana later today. they're going to rebound and they'll be ready for this storm, the next storm and the next

storm, not that we are asking for that, but it shows the resolve the americans have and the faith that we have for each other. >> time to rise above politics and we see two men that were vicious out there on the campaign trail now standing side by side on the tar back before the president moves onto louisiana. he was expected to meet here in texas with the delegation there and also bring with him on the ground there many members of his cabinet, cabinet-level folks from housing like ben carson, secretary devos, a lot of the school kids hope to get back to their normal lives and get back to school and important to get children the chance to get back to normalcy. it's been an incredible trip so far. halfway through before he heads to louisiana to see the president and the first lady able to interact with people that are in shelters, with the children there on the ground, to see them handing out food and making -- traveling not just for

the mega centers but ground forces and even in the neighborhoods, just a brief visit that we were able to see if -- to see the president on the ground in houston. here he is out in the tarmac talking with the military that's been working around the clock, those service members and also the lawmakers that are going to have a long road ahead as far as getting funding and things distributed in the weeks, months and years to come. one thing that comes to mind as we saw in earlier report from our very own peter doocy who has been following the president, at the nrg center, the first place he visited after landing and there was a gentleman who was there in front of the president and was passing out supplies of food and the gentleman said, you know, we need help because our families are not getting the relief that they need and the president hearing it for the first time said, where is your family, go get them, bring them here. and then we saw the gentleman

saw to get his family, we don't know what happened after that. one would happen, continue to watch with this texas delegation and talking to the governor now and i can't see the governor there thank youing the -- thanking the president and was there to meet him there, mayor turner of houston. senate majority mitch mcconnell as well as majority leader pelosi as well as senate minority leader chuck schumer.

some nearly $8 billion and now enhancing that to 14.5 billion. >> the trump administration on friday sending $14.5 billion and funding request, we are watching the president, first lady there boarding air force one. final days before doors close and head off to next destination, the international airport in louisiana where he will be sitting down expecting to have a meet and greet on the ground there with members at the county emergency operation center. he'll be meeting with the national guard as well and as i mentioned a few moments ago, the cajun navy once he sets took back again in louisiana as the trip goes forward where it's possible we will be losing the shot. we are looking back from video moments ago before he actually boarded the plane to take off for his next set of this trip through the disaster area onto louisiana where we watched him interacting with coast guard members saying the final thank you, mentioning the 11,000

people that the coast guard had saved, of course, during the course of this meeting there in the tarmac, his final moments, he had a chance to go down there and thank members of the military. we know that the army, the navy, the air force, the coast guard, the national guard, the texas national guard in full capacity on the ground there, such a military response, so the president speaking not just with the people that were affected, the victims, lawmakers, officials, military, really running a full gamut in texas, houston in surrounded area. president trump and first lady visiting victims, let's go to peter doocy there who is in houston right now. peter, just give us an insight to what you saw on the ground earlier today? >> molly, before the president left, got to the airport there, we did see him meeting with some

affected families, damaged neighborhood in the pearl land section of the houston metro area, he was telling them how proud he is of how hard they are working. the president also met with some members of the texas delegation, lawmakers, democrats and republicans, they are the ones who are going to be hearing from texans about what they need federally in the coming months and years, so he did get a jump on that and one member of the texas delegation, senator ted cruz also accompanied president trump to the first church which is being used as aid distribution facility and highlighted the role that cruz will have in the coming days and weeks in delivering the almost $8 billion of federal aid that the white house asked congress for last night. >> ted doesn't know but his work is just starting right now, we have signed some very big authorizations last night and we

will get it through. >> at the church president trump reminded everybody that tomorrow is a national day of prayer for harvey victims, he wants everybody to go to church and pray and then he says they should enjoy their day, molly. >> you never know who will be meeting president when he steps foot out there. how does the president deal with the one harvey victim who was upset about fema? >> kelly just referenced this a few minutes ago, the way the president tackles this man who had a problem was trying to get him help as fast as possible. >> i have a few things right now. i used to be with family and friends and now staying here. they are being denied. >> where are they? where are they? >> they are back there. >> get them up. >> they spent most of the time inside handing out food at the nrg center, mega center, turned

to college campus during first trip in the flood zone the president had to steer clear on on going efforts so that law enforcement could be used to save lives but today he and the first lady were right in the thick of it. they were seeing areas hardest hit and meeting with people whose homes were most damage and lives most affected by the storm so the first visit on tuesday was more informational, today, though, the president was here to extend a hand to help and also to tell people who were living at mega shelters like this one that the federal government is not going to forget about them and the help that they are going to require over the next couple of years once air force one leaves which is about to do. >> right, and the president and first lady hearing some of the stories of the devastation firsthand. peter doocy, thank you. kelly: while all this unfolds, research and recovery still going on in neighborhoods today, how local heros are making a

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kelly: fox news alert where moments ago we saw president donald trump meeting with members, service members before depart to go louisiana. the president reaching out to

them. members of the coast guard, the army, the national guard and other members of the service thanking them all for their hard work that they've done. the task they've had to help people in the flood ravaged area of texas. let's listen to what the president said. >> so i want to thank everybody and we have army, we have everybody here, i have to say even you guys have to admit, i hear the coast guard saved 11,000 people, think of it, almost 11,000 people by going into wings that the media would not go into, they would not go unless it's a really good story in which case they would. i want to congratulate everybody, i want to congratulate the coast guard for what you've done, incredible. incredible. i gave the commencement speech this year at the coast guard academy and they will come out and compete with you guys. you know that, right? they have a lot to compete with. i want to congratulate you, the

army guys, this has been, i mean, it's brutal what's out there but you have done so much for the services and for the respect and the whole world is watching, the whole world is watching. so i want to thank and i want to thank -- thank you, fellow, thank you, everybody, thank you. [applause] >> you have done so much for the the prestige of the services and the coast guard in what you've done. again, thank you very much. >> as we have seen federal aid and recovery now underway for texas, the gulf coast area nearly eight days after harvey made landfall and joining me on the phone is the mayor of the very hard-hit city of victoria texas. thank you for joining us. >> thank you. >> our hearts are with you and your community. the devastation, the trees that are down, huge vehicles that have been tipped over really speaks to what you suffered there, how are things today?

>> you know, things are much better today, the community is upbeat the weather has changed for the better and we are cleaning up and helping each other, much better day. >> i've heard tremendous stories of resiliency, can you share a few with us? >> oh, yeah, there's been so many people, we have 620 state employees, for example, that have worked nonstop for seven days and i ran into them yesterday, had nearly no sleep and his name was barry and he was exhausted and to keep the water flowing and to get the system prepared, there's so many of his colleagues and first responders who share that same work ethic all week and everybody has been a first responder for the last week, every city employee and, indeed, many citizens helping each other. >> you must not be getting much sleep, but what are the next steps there?

>> we have recovered very quickly, we have reestablished services and primarily issues right now are traffic control and traffic, we had a lot of major intersections and that's a dangerous thing, very concerned that we are getting those up and we've had wonderful support from city of austin and san antonio, they sent resources to us and our water system, we've got the water flowing and we are testing and making sure it's safe before we move out of notice that we are in right now. once those things are in place, we will be -- it's just a matter of clean-up that will go on for a month or so. >> it seems to strange to talk about a lack of water when we have seen so much of it there and homes submerged. how are things as far as water levels concerned? have the waters receded now? >> it is receding, it's not completely down. some low-lying areas that are use today this type of flooding,

the people that live on the river, we were able to evacuate them out and it is -- i would suspect over the next 48 hours or maybe longer, it'll recede completely and they can start to return to their homes. >> as people begin to return to their homes, what message would you like to send them, is there dangerous to be aware of? >> well, no, not really with respect to their homes, they'll be a lot of repairing, that kind of thing and fema and other state agencies and so we need to coordinate that relief effort and make sure that they apply for any needed assistance they need and, you know, we've set up a gofundme account, victoria tx relief fund and that money collect there had will be distributed by interfaith group, we have a strong interfaith group made up of many denominations. >> all right, mayor paul

polasek, thank you for joining us, we wish you a speed recovery and hope things go smoothly in the next 48 hours and well beyond that. thank you. >> thank you. kelly: quite a busy saturday afternoon in texas. texas is cracking down on businesses looking to take advantage of harvey victims, what state is doing to keep eye on price gouging and other items liberty mutual stood with me

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>> a massive recovery project now underway in and around flood ravaged houston as the focus shifts to rebuilding thousands of damaged homes and restoring normalcy to the communities across that region. steve harrigan live in houston with the latest on the clean-up efforts. steve. >> molly, some incredible scenes here in the western part of houston, we are at a staging area where a lot of volunteers are going house to house in

kyaks and small boats, sometimes high-water vehicles mainly trying not to pull out people at this point but just belongs, it's western side of houston. still parts -- and a lot of -- [inaudible] >> we are just beginning to

towards mid atlantic. every one of those icons there are storm reports generally flooding of wind all from this system, so that continues, that's going to keep lifting its way up to east coast in the next couple of days, folks along the mid atlantic stretching up to new york and boston, all areas where we will see more rain and all remnants of harvey. the other big system, we are paying attention to, we have a major category 2 hurricane spinning out into the gulf or out in the atlantic getting to lose that actually because we are losing daylight, but there's the circulation, category 2 storm with winds running up to 110 miles an hour, pay attention to this track. it runs into warm water and

begins to pick up to category 2, to 3 and category 4. you see this cone, those are possible paths, anywhere within the cone. if it runs on the south side of the cone, you are running portions of puerto rico, getting into the san juan area, by tuesday, in the northern end of this, that could be good news because it might run back out to atlantic. it could be anywhere in the middle, running south, if you run along the southern edge, perhaps running towards florida or into the carolinas area, georgia, if you run into the northern end of this, this is big one, category 4, category 5. we are hoping it turns back to atlanta. >> hopefully this is what they call a fish storm and heads into sea, thanks, adam. kelly: texas looking to aggressively prosecute anyone

price gouging in the wake of harvey. it goes against texas values and threaten to fine those who do it up to $25,000 per incident. joining me texas attorney general ken paxton. it's a bad subject to talk about because we much prefer watch the recovery efforts go unmolested and yet there are people out there who are greedy and you're doing something about it. >> absolutely. first of all, you make a good point. we've had literally hundreds if not thousands of people rescuing people, risking their lives and really making texas proud. we obviously and my job i have to deal with with some of the problems, we've had over a thousand complaints in houston and in dallas since this all began, some of them legitimate, some of them not but we are addressing the ones that we find legitimate and we are stopping it. kelly: what types of things are you hearing from those

particular residents that are concerned about price gouging and other things that are unsavorily? >> well, it deals with critical supplies, things that people need as necessities, so water, you know, we have seen it up to $100 a case. kelly: i'm sorry, could you repeat that again, ken? >> we have seen water up to $100 a case. i mean, that's unusual, we have seen price gouging, we have seen fuel up to $20 a gallon and obviously we have seen other high prices from florida, $10 a gallon. we have seen hotels triple and quadruple, best western chain revoked a franchise because one of franchisees was significantly overcharging. it's been difficult, some of them are not in business right now but slowly but surely working our way through the complaints. kelly: i've got to ask you to put your personal hat as friend of state of texas, are you incensed by the mere fact that

they would do that? >> you know what, it really is disturbing, you're talking about people that are desperate. they need the supplies, basic supplies, water, fuel, shelter and to take advantage of people at this time is really horrific and horrible specially knowing that they don't have a choice, some of these people don't have a lot of resources, they are struggling financially, they are not in their jobs for a week, it could be very difficult for them to pay for resources anyway let alone price gouge resources. so it's definitely something that distasteful and our legislature gave us authority to deal with it. kelly: we just saw the president of the united states visit houston and some of the suburbs of houston. now on his way to louisiana, so we have seen that. we've seen the vice president there. now, you, of course, being in the leadership of the state, what's your marching orderers in terms of making sure that you let people know, do not price

gouge our very own people who are at their wits end trying to get the help that they need and that they deserve? >> so we have been on -- we've used all kinds of resources, we have website, hotline that people can call into. people have sent us pictures, we have tried to get on radio tv and explain the laws. a lot of people didn't know about this law and it's difficult when people don't know that as we've -- as we've informed people the actual incidents starting going down in houston and we started informing people in dallas and the incidents starting gown down there. our efforts to inform people that the consequences that this is a violation of law, what the cost is, by the way, one of the penalties to 65 and older is $255,000. kelly: attorney general ken paxton. >> harris county texas, home to houston, next as officials and

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of the year where all beds are on sale. and right now save 50% on the labor day limited edition bed, plus 36 month financing. ends monday! >> fox news alert, president trump to meet soon with members of the louisiana delegation. that after visiting with people displaced by harvey in texas where recovery efforts are underway now. joining me by phone ed gonzález of harris county, texas, that includes houston. sheriff gonzález thanks for taking a few moments to chat with us. we just got word from ken paxton, attorney general in texas that there's major price gouging, a few isolated, a $100 for case of water, $20 for gas, there's people why who have jacked up hotel prices, are you seeing anything like that happening in houston in the surrounding areas? >> i have not heard that. i know early on i did hear a few

incidents but nothing severe that was early on and since the storm ravaged this area i haven't heard anything. it's unfortunate, i'm sure it does happen in isolation but by in large people are getting out and starting to rebuild their lives as best they can and i haven't seen any signs of price gouging and i've traveled most of the county. >> this is good to hear. on another law and order issue, our correspondent who has done a tremendous job, he's been all over, he's reporting out of west colombia, brazoria county, people protecting neighborhoods from looters, are you seeing any looting? >> in harris county, similarly we saw sporadic incidents specially during rescue mode when people were being displaced, unfortunately you have crooks that are going to take advantage of the moment unfortunately. we try today eventually provide

order maintenance and try today beef up patrols and we've had a great show of force coming from all over the u.s. and here in texas, of course, so we've been able to supplement that and we have seen very minor incidents and every day it's less and less. we are back into regular calls for service, we are not seeing much looting in harris county. >> that's good to hear. we are looking at live pictures, flat-bottom boats still out there and people maybe traveling by boats to begin the mucking out process. we have been seeing volunteers pouring from across the nation. how are your people, first responders holding up? >> we are holding up, okay. again, i traveled to most of stations throughout the county and visited with a lot of men and women that were out there in front lines, officers, everybody seems to be in good spirits,

energized, they feel that they have served the county well the past week and we have seen tremendous outpouring of support just from even this morning i was talking to a crew that came from near the dallas area down to houston to help support law enforcement and offer donations and they are energized and we think we represent our county well and we are proud of that. >> and you definitely should be. where is the greatest need right now? >> greatest need for us, we still had a few water rescues in the western part of the county where we have reservoirs, the good news is that those water levels are continuing to go down, so that's good. i think the greatest need now is obviously, you know, people trying to rebuild and trying to get supplies they need to rebuild homes, we want to make sure that going forward there isn't a lot of price-gouging when it comes to contractors, roofers, that type of thing,

sometimes tends to happen as well and also surrounding areas that were hit pretty hard, you mentioned brazoria county and fort bend and beaumont to the east are still going through tough times. >> sheriff ed gonzález, we are thinking of all of you and wishing you and speedy recovery from the storm and here as we look at pictures where the water is still there. thanks for joining us. >> thank you, molly. kelly: a lot of work going on. much of the texas gulf coast under several feet of water and many people are still awaiting rescue. the latest on those efforts next. i had no idea. it's opened up a whole new world for me. ♪

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>> all right, we are bringing you live pictures right now. you see air force one on the ground. this is louisiana, that's where the president and the first lady are expected to view what's happened there on the ground in the wake hurricane harvey. they will be meeting with county emergency operators, the national guard, also expect today meet with the cajun, navy, the volunteers that rush intoed the danger zone with their own personal water craft, small vessels and went out there to rescue people. we are just waiting for him to deplane along with the first lady, melania, as they begin to

meet with officials there on the ground including the louisiana delegation. kelly: and if this visit is like anything we encountered this afternoon with president visiting houston texas and going to church and nearby, the president definitely taking time out to not only thank members of the military and the texas delegation but also reaching out to people on the ground who had been going through the thick of it with regards to hurricane harvey and the devastating damage it has done to the area. the president also stating that we will get through this, the president trying to encourage people an consoling people and helping them in every way imageable. we heard from the mayor in rockport, texas, the hardest-hit community so far that we know of in texas, we would say to them, the hardest times lead to the

greatest moments of your time, keep the faith and it will all be worth it at the end and the president having a day of prayer for the nation. >> yeah, we are expecting the president to get a chance to interact more with the people of louisiana, the people who have been affected over the course of the storm when something he was wasn't able to do with the initial stop in texas that he made this week but he should be able to meet with a greater variety of people today. he's expected to be greeted on the ground by governor, cassidy and a number of congressional members also on the ground today and this is a vital part of the entire process, bringing in those lawmakers, getting people on board. the president has said that he expects the funding to come in quickly and that's something that he has prioritized, he wants to see action taken to get the money where it belongs and help people recover in the days ahead. >> the president will be visiting lake charles as well which is an area that was hit by

harvey, caused some flooding, you have to keep in mind that in texas, 51 to 52-inches of rainfall hit the area and they've been releasing two reservoirs there to try to mitigate the flooded waters. in louisiana, louisiana is so familiar with hurricanes, some of the damage that can come from that, prepare to go join me now is a colleague of mine who is very familiar with what is going on in louisiana, particularly when it comes to hurricane and that's arthel neville as we watch the president of the united states and melania descend the stairs of air force one greeting the people in chennault there and looking

prepared to go out and comfort the people that are there who actually want to see the president and hear from the president, arthel neville joins me now. this is your home state and obviously we can all go backs 2 years ago to katrina and the devastation that impacted that area, we've learned a lot from that. >> he certainly has learned a lot and seeing the picture of president trump with governor john bell edwards and first lady dona edwards is very important to have this very immediate, very personal interaction and the president is there saying, i am here for you and not so much of the chaos after hurricane katrina with the miscommunication between the national offices of government along with the locals there, the governor at the time and some city officials in new orleans. as you can also see when we saw images from houston earlier, the folks there on the ground at the

nrg center were very happy to see president trump because at a time like this, you're grounding is no where, it's lost, you feel hopeless, you feel scared, you feel as if no one cares and to have the commander in chief to go down there in the role of console or in chief, accompanied by his wife who is very good with children, it was heartwarm to go see the children there at the nrg center as well, so happy to see president trump. you feel as though people have forgotten about you even though the coverage is there, we are watching the coverage, we are covering it nonstop to put faces to this tragedy. but when you're there on the ground, it's you, you're not watching television, you're watching your children in the children's area trying to make the best of a bad situation, you're watching your elderly mother to make sure that she's okay, that her blood pressure is

okay and you're watching your younger, your siblings and neighbors and doing the best yourself to maybe taken and mike emmanuel can with me, covering natural disasters yourself, covered hurricane katrina with quite frankly one of the most difficult , when i'm speaking to you right now i'm speaking to you as my heart as i always do anyway but i'm specially speaking from personal experience. >> arthel, seeing president trump on the ground there is