we also know that there are other needs. i heard specifically about growing needs for port oh potties. i was told to tell you that they will be arriving tomorrow. we are so proud to see that the water supply for corpus christi is either back up and running or shortly will be. i know that tceq worked with corpus christi as well as the other water providers to make sure that can happen as quickly as possible. we are still involved in search and rescue missions in port aran sass and rockport. we are grateful in those locations as well as where for all that heb and walmart, lows and soon to be home depot are doing. so there is much to do, 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 with where he discussed at our meeting earlier, we need to recognize it's going to be a new normal, 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 provide some important details and then pass the mike to senator cornyn and then to the national fema administer. but i want to explain a couple of details that citizens need to know about. as governor i have made a state

disaster declaration for 54 contracts across the state of texas. in order for a disaster declaration to become a federal disaster declaration, it requires certain financial thresholds to be met. those financial thresholds have been met in 18 counties. there are 18 counties in the state of texas i made a federal disaster declaration for that the president has granted. with that presidential grant triggers the involvement of fema. because there are a lot of people in your viewing area who may not know if they are on the federal disaster declaration list, i want to read these counties out for you. becounty, goal yad, cleeburg, notice aces, san pa trisho,

refero, aransas, bra zbloea, calhoun, chambers, fort bend, galveston, harris, jackson, liberty, mad agore da, victoria and what are ton. 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 you will hear everybody else speak about because this needs to be every person's go-to

location on the internet. it is disaster assistance dot org. >> dot gof. >> i'm sorry, disaster assistance dot gof. and this is brock long, who is the national fema administer, 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 let's say funds they need to be able to stay at a hotel because they have no place to reside. one of the places you can go is to disaster assistance dot gof. brock will explain more about ways in which people can access the assistance they need. but i want to provide that to you now. i will be happy to in moments to participate in question and

answer, but at this time i would like to turn it over to senator john cornyn. >> well, governor, thank you for inviting me to join you here today. and i want to join you in echoing the incredible leadership that we've seen here at the local level here at the county and 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 i had a county commissioner come up to me and he said texas isn't just a place you're from. it describes who your family is. and i remember that regularly and especially on occasions like this because we're pulling together as one family as texans to try to help those who have lost their least and their families, those who 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 teamworking out of the emergency management operations center in austin, texas, have done a tremendous job, but it would not be possible without the support, not only the leadership of governor abbott but also folks throughout the state and local government. but as you'll hear in a moment from the fema administer, the federal emergency management agency, this is going to be a long hall. we're trying to save peoples' lives. we're 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 the governor mentioned, disaster assistance .gof, om people may not have access to internet coverage because they don't have electricity, but if they can make a phone call, they can call

1800621 fema. did i get that right? >> sure did. >> 1800621 fema. that's the first step that people need to take in order to get the assistance through the federal emergency management agency that they're 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 forward leaning and very aggressive in their response. but the only way we're going to get through this together is the texas family is to make sure that we are 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. goot days, folk. as i've 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.

and when their capacity has been exceeded, the governor steps in with his support and tremendous leadership and capacity and my support is designed to backfill the governor's needs and to make sure that we are here to support you guys. and we're 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 and watching the unfolding flooding, just north of corpus christi we're fully aware that port aransas and rockport took the brunt of a category 4 hurricane when it comes to the winds and the storm surge and there's a tremendous amount of damage. you know, to this point, we are continuing to support the life safety efforts. we personally have rolled in 8,500 federal staff members, people from around the federal government to be in texas, and some of those are in louisiana just making sure that we're

anticipating any additional issues that occur there. of those 8,500, about 1,100 are out performing search and rescue. it's my job to coordinate the resources of the federal government. you've seen the coast guard choppers. we're backfilling national guard as well, support from national guard to we have customs and border patrol in tounl. we have all kinds of people providing security to all types of things that are going on from are the federal government. the other thing that you're starting to see is the state of texas, you guys are a very capable state. we all know this and you guys have tremendous capabilities of providing life saving commodities. we're aulg backfilling that. already we have over -- it's 2 million liters worth of water, 2 million meals, tens of thousands of tarps. i'm proud to say that already just north of here in rockport trucks are already arriving.

we're pushing them out through the points of distribution on behalf of our state and local partners as well. and this is the way it's supposed to work. we're a unified effort. we're a team. and we all depend on each other going forward. as the governor said of the 18 counties, it's incredibly important and i want to continue to push this message of the first step to do if you reside in one of those 18 counties under the individual assistance zas r declaration that the president swiftly approved for the governor, start to register now online first, disaster assistance dot gof. if that's not working, then again as the senator suggests, 1800621 fema and start the process there. additionally, i've got over 1,300 staff members connected to the nfip, the national flood insurance program in the state. obviously those people are starting to disperse through the state and we would also if if you're an nfip holder, go ahead

and contact your insurance agent to activity your policies and we are prepared to start processing claims on that as well. right now we're also continuing to help with power restoration. and folks, you know, as the senator suggests, this is going to be a very long event. you're going to get frustrated. you're going to be tired. your routine is going to be disrupted for weeks. we are striving for a new normal here. but fema is with you, and we're here for you, you know, to support you, governor, as well as all the local judges and mayors. we're 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 of 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're challenged, but how we respond to the challenges we face. every time i see texans challenged, i'm 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 could have drowned t there's so many heroes in houston who literally saved the least of their fellow texans. the same is true of what happened in this region where the hurricane first hit texas. trk nls helping texans. that is what we do as a state, and i don't think anybody does

it better. i'm 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 we will get through this even stronger than where we were before the storm hit. with that, i'd be happy to take some questions. yes. >> governor abbott, the the president used the firefighters association told fox news that his firefighters are being under utilized as a lack of planning from are the city which is why so many civilians had to take part in the rescue. have you heard that or do you have any information on that? >> i would have to direct you to the city of houston on that. >> governor. >> sure. >> obviously still a work in progress and this is an ongoing situation, but so far how would you judge, how would you grade the government response? >> well, we've been -- 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. i've spoken with the president on multiple occasions with his cabinet members ranging from the secretary of health and human services, homeland security, transportation, energy. i'm leaving some out, but also the fema administer. and i would have to grade the federal government's response as an a. plus. this is if not the largest it 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 unpair held. and so we are grateful for what's happened so far, but we know we're 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 and their towns and counties. and it is because of their commitment to the people they represent that that coupled with the federal government's response that we are doing as well as we are. yes. >> some of your advice to the people in houston is seen as contradictory to what the mayor said. do you think people in houston should have evacuated? >> well, listen, decisions about evacuation are something that are behind us. we are where we are right now and we need to focus on first, protecting life and doing all we can to rescue those who are in danger. second, get them to an evacuation center. and third, help them build a bridge to what their future will be.

>> two more, everyone. >> what are some of the biggest challenges you've seen people -- >> listen, the biggest challenge first is making sure we get every person to a secure place and then second is going to be the long period of rebuilding our communities. that's something you can't just snap your fingers and make happen. it's something that everybody that you see up here together with us, we're all going to be in this together. and it's going to take a long time doing it. and so we will need the patients and cooperation of everybody in this region as we go through that process to rebuild the community. >> government, have you spoken to mexican officials? have they offered support. >> yes. i personally have spoken with mexican officials and my staff has also spoken with officials from the government of mexico. and yes, they have offered assistance. >> in what way? >> they said in whatever we need, they said whether it could be boats, whether it could be food, they said that they had been participants in helping with katrina, and they were

going to give some more precise ways and my staff will be communicating with them about specific needs. >> one more right here and then we're out. >> yes. >> governor about rockport and port aransas what would be offered to those residents who are still there, have lost their homes, their cars? will they moved to a shelt r, buzzed somewhere else eventually? what's the plan with those people? >> i'm going to answer part of that and i will ask brock to answer part of it. let's 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. they went to san antonio. there also are buses that go to austin, dallas, to other locations. so there are multiple evacuation centers. people can get on buses and go to at no charge. so that's 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 it's not already established which i think it is points of distribution for water and all the supplies they need. separate from that, part of your question must be answered by the fema admin straighter. >> so. so let me take a second to explain this goal. 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 you're moving citizens who may be trapped or isolated, you're trying to get them to a shelter,

you're trying to minimize the time that they spend in that shelter and the governor proactively turned on what's called the transitional shelter assistance program under individual assistance. this allows anyone in a shelter or someone who does not have financial means that's 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 of this is is to, if we can't put you back in your home because it's destroyed or because the flood waters are there and they're going to be there for a while, we want to get you out of the long-term sheltering. we want to find rent them if you've got them is what we say. let's try to rent hout different facilities and be able to place people in those times 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 don't just start dragging in manufactured homes and travel trailers right off the bat. they're not going to be on your property tomorrow by any means. this is a process where you have to be in, you know, into the individual assistance. the goal is to try to find you a temporary -- a lasting solution that works within where your job is, and that's what we're working on. so it's 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. we're already working very proactively with the state. i just got off the phone with secretary carson at hud. they're going to be actively involved this this as well. >> thanks, guys. we have to go. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> hi, i'm ali velshi.

that was texas governor greg abbott. senator john cornyn and fema administer brock long among other officials in texas providing an update on the response to tropical storm harvey. we're closely tracking that situation in houston. let me give you a little bit about what was just said. there are 254 counties in texas. abbott confirming that 54 hf those counties are under a sat emergency declaration. 18 counties are under a federal emergency declaration. that's where fema is setting upshot. there are 12,000 national guard members who have been activated. the governor just doing that earlier today. activating the entire texas national guard after first activating just a few thousand of them. and rescuesen it to be under way. here is the problem, though. in houston the weather is forecast to get worse before easing up. the flooding is going to get worse. so far at least two people have died as a result of the storm. torrential rains, though, still

pounding houston h. 24 to 34 inches reportedly in and around the city. and it is far from over. the national weather service is calling for an additional 10 to 20 inches of rain over the next 72 hours. no let up. probably until thursday night. some areas could see a stunning 50 inches of rainfall by the end of the storm. the big concern today is the buffalo bayou in houston, which is a river that goes west to east across houston. here is the problem. not only is it rising because of the rainfall, but there is a controlled release of water under way from two reservoirs on the northwest sides of the city in katie texas about 20 miles from downtown. officials say it's going to rise at a rate of 4 to 6 inches an hour and that previously unneeded homes will flood. this as rescues continue this arch. earlier today the houston fire chief told me that 1,000 calls

were waiting to be serviced. these were calls that had already got enthrough toe 911. all the information had been transmitted, and they are then put in a queue to determine whether the national guard or the coast guard or the fire department goes and rescues these people. at that time there was a queue just to get through to 911 of about ten calls. and officials were encourage lg people not to hang up because then it causes the dispatchers to actually have to go and get connected to those people again. this is a problem for people using their cell phones because they're running out of power while they're waiting for 911. and as of a couple of hours ago there were still about 200 critical responses that had not been answered. so far roughly 2,000 people have already been rescued as 20 coast guard held couldn'ters and 21 shallow draft boats continue operations. about 5,500 people are in emergency shelters around houston. and overall the storm could force over 30,000 people into

shelters. that is the basis for that conversation that we just had explaining that some of those people are going to be in shelters for a very long time. let's begin with nbc stephanie gosk who joins us by phone. she mab monitoring those two reservoirs, the two dams in northwestern houston that are releasing water into the buffalo bayou. she also just got finished riding along with the coast guard which is out rescuing people in the area. what's the latest? >> reporter: outside the barker cam basically awe day. and that neighborhood is right by the barker cam. and, you know, keep this in mind is awe look at these pictures and see this water that none of that water was there yesterday. >> wow. >> this is all new and this is all because you have these dams that are quickly filling up. and the army corps of engineers has got to release this water, they say, because they're concerned that if they do not, the dams themselves will reach capacity or that there will be

uncontrolled water either spilling over the dams or over the reservoirs. but the people that live in those homes were telling me today that they actually rarely get flooding there and that some of them even thought they should have been more adequately warned about what was going to happen overnight. listen to this conversation i had with this woman who was rescued today by the coast guard. >> does this area normally flood in the last two years did it flood? >> no. oh, my gosh, it never floods like this here at all. this is a rater. probably once in a thousand years maybe. >> i mean, you live right on the buffalo bayou, but this is not a portion that normally gets flooded. >> she's not even in the hundred dollar year flood plain any more. >> that's remarkable. and she's very close to the bayou. it gives you an idea of just how unprecedented it is. >> it is. this is just -- it really shocked us all, especially when they started talking about this tropical storm coming in. nobody thought it was going to

do anything. the mayor didn't call for even voluntary evacuations. >> do you question that decision right now? >> definitely. he made the wrong choice. he should have at least -- but you know what? nobody can predict mother nature. but he -- we just incident didn't know it was going to get this bad. >> reporter: so i had a conversation with the safety manager from the army corps of engineers, and the army corps of engineers runs and monitors both of these dams. and the conversation that i had with him over the weekend, on saturday morning, was that they were going to close the gates of these dams and keep them closed throughout the entirety of the storm because they knew that downstream in the buffalo bayou there would be other flooding and they didn't want to contribute to that. now, obviously that strategy has had to change because they are seeing these historic rains. and again, today torrential

rains, ali, that just are not letting up. >> stephanie, i know you've been covering this for a long time. for folks who don't understand, why did they have to release this water? it's a lot of water that's getting released from this cam. i thought i heard an estimate earlier of several thousand cubic feet per second. what would happen if they didn't release that water? >> well, let me back you up a little bit so you understand the history of these dams. they were built during world war ii. and if you know much about what was going on in this country at the time, you know not much was built in world war ii. it was so critical to get them finished. in the 30s there was a catastrophic flood. they had to create, build these dams to protect the downtown. that is when they were built. but here is the problem. they're old, and they need to be replaced. and they're in the process of getting replaced. $75 million project. now, dealing with the dams as they are right now and talking with the army corps of engineers

they said listen, you know, these dams protect millions of people, and if there is a failure of the cam, let's say they don't do these strategy releases of water and that water goes over the cam or the structure of the cam breaks, you really are talking about a nightmare scenario for the city of houston. >> all right. so that's why they are redeesing this water. great job on your reporting. we will be coming back to you. stephanie gosk forous the on northwest side of houston. i want to go to lake wood for egs, texas. similarly situated to the northwest of houston. mia is standing by for us. it's still raining. it looks like it's raining are a little less at least. >> you know, it is a little less especially from what we saw a little bit earlier. it has not let up. as you can see in this neighborhood, there is water up and down the streets here. joining us right now is justin.

he lives here in this neighborhood. first of all, thanks fork being out here and chatting with us. tell us a little about the situation further back in here. >> well, most of the homes are built about the same elevation, and they're a good bit of them about ten feet from taking on water. there's a few that are much lower and have already gotten water in their house. >> have you ever seen this kind of flooding back here before? >> no. actually i just moved here about four months ago. so welcome home, right. yeah, no, i lived in the heights and my house flooded down there, so i moved out here to get away from the flooding, and here i am again, so. >> what's going through your mind right now as you survey this scene here, all of this water just up and down the streets rushing all over the place? >> well, you know, based on how the rest of the will city is, i think we're in pretty good shape for this neighborhood. we've got power. most of us have stocked up and i've basically just came out to see, kind of assess a plan b if it does come up any higher and

we lose mour, what would i do. so i've got a pregnant wife and two babies back at the house, so i need a plan. >> have you thought of what you might do? it was difficult for us to get in here, ali, i have to be honest with you. there were a lot of roads that were flooded. they were blocked off by police. are you at all concerned especially given your family situation at this point? >> not too concerned. we've got plenty of flotation devices and we'll be able to get out. >> are you ready to go to the roof if necessary? >> yeah. we've actually spent last night moving everything from the first floor to the second floor, so we're prepared. we've got, you know, plenty of ice and food for a week. i survived through katrina in new orleans, so i know how it's done. >> up went through hurricane katrina in new orleans back in 2005. how does that compare to what's happening right now? >> new orleans, you know, we were told to get out and it was my fault for not getting out. here it was a little bit

different. we thought we were in a safe place, and really didn't just -- didn't anticipate this. >> and across the way here there's another neighborhood and there's been on going rescues by sort of private citizens coming in with their boats. what does that say about the community that people have been coming together bringing their personal boats here to rescue people that can't get out of their house otherwise? >> i appreciate it. if it comes time that i need that, i hope that we still have those resources available. i understand more resources are coming available. you know, if i had my boat here instead of stuck out in beaumont, then i would be doing the same thing. i wish i could help more. >> well, justin, thank you so much for speaking with us. we reesht approximate it. we wish the best to you and your family. >> thank you. >> this is the situation that so many people here in texas obviously are facing. i mean, at this point should you stay or should you go. and it's a decision that people are having to make on a very personal basis even their circumstances about whether or not they're going to flood and perhaps need rescuing themselves.

ali. >> mia, thanks very much. let's go to nbc's philip man that who is at houston's george brown convention center. it's been transformed into a shelter for flood victims. and you've been talking to them, philip, for the last couple of hours. what are you hearing? >> well, in this place is a swelling. there was about 2,900 people two hours ago. that was the last official number we got from the red cross, but you can see over my shoulder there has been an influx within the last hour, hundreds and hundreds have come throughment the capacity is five thousand so i would imagine that they're pretty close to that number. we'll find out pretty soon. but one of those families who just came in within the hour, i want to bring them in, they were rescued by helicopter. ten year old son and two year old cute little daughter here. what was that like? you guys had to -- >> we just waefd them. i mean, we jous got out and there were some people walking from the rescue. i don't even know who was it, but we just waefd them and then

they come and we're here. >> and you're saying it wasn't actually your house. >> it was my sister-in-law's house. i mean, inside the house there was barely three inches of water, but as soon as we oemd the door, i mean, it was -- all the water came? >> and you were telling me you were only staying at your sister-in-law's house last night because your husband -- >> my husband is stuck at work. >> stuck at work. how long has he been gone. >> he's been there since thursday. >> wow. >> yeah. >> thursday. where does he -- what part of town does he work. >> katy area, highway 6, over there. so he works like a shell plant or something. >> have you been in contact with him. >> yeah, i've been in contact. they're fine. they just can't move because the freeway is closed. >> and because of that -- so when you went to bed last night the neighborhood was fine that you were in. >> it started coming in like around 8, and so we started seeing it in the garage and then out of nowhere it started coming in like real fast.

>> and then you walked outside and the water was everywhere. >> yes. i mean, we had to run upstairs because we were scared, you know, we didn't want to get the dirty water. and as soon as we walk out, the water was all the way to the waist. >> and then the helicopter came, you said, right, and picked everybody else up. >> yeah. they couldn't land it, so he threw the basket so he can get us. >> you said he went first, your son. >> they went first and then me and my daughter and then the rest of the -- my family. >> what was that like to have the helicopter come and save you? >> well, i was like -- i was scared a little bit because i thought my mom would like -- was going to stay there because i thought everybody else except her, she was going to stay there. >> so you were worried for your mom. >> yeah. >> i can imagine how scary that

would be. you're the first to go and you see your mom down below. what happened after that, they got her. >> yes. shelves like the third one to get up. >> she did. when i fist met you a few minutes ago you were rubbing your arms. you were saying that your arms -- >> my arms are still hurting because i was carrying my little girl because she didn't have no shoes on. so when i walk in i had to still carry her to look for some clothes. >> so you just left with the clothes on your back. >> yeah. just had some clothes for them, but some of the shoes were missing, so she was barefoot right now. >> but now she finally got some shoes, we see. she's playing with the laces there. we see her. say hello. she got some new shoes. >> yeah. >> so have you talked to -- do you have any indication when you're going to get to have your husband come back? >> i mean, he's ready to get out, but there's no way he's getting out. >> okay. so you're going to spend the foreseeable future right here at the shelter.

>> yeah. i mean, until we can. and i'm still worried about my brother because he's still over there and they were already rescuing women and children. >> okay. i'll let you go check on them. thank you so much for speaking with us. >> okay. no problem. >> i'm glad you guys are all safe. again, one of the many stories that we see here of rescue, helicopters, swimming, however you can get out. people are getting out and a lot of them are coming right down here to downtown houston at the george r. brown convention center. >> you can get there, philip. the roads around the center are accessible so people can go in there and get food and clothes and things like that? >> yeah. you come in and get clothes. we might be able to see there are clothes that are right behind us. let me just see if we can swing around here. we've got -- there we go. see, there's piles of clothes right there. they come and go. they come and go. every few minutes this thing is completely empty. >> wow. >> and then all of a sudden -- they can only get two items.

>> okay. >> two items. and what they're doing right now is sorting it out, women, children. and then on the other side of these doors they're kind of presenting it because all the people, there's a line all the way thot back of the convention center there in the back. so these are all volunteers that you're looking right here that are sorting through a lot of clothes. it is a lot of clothes, but it goes by so quickly. and everybody is only allowed to get two articles of clothing. so this will be empty in just a few minutes. >> wow. >> we've been seeing it all day long. it comes and it goes. >> all right. thanks very much. if this rain keeps coming like we are expecting and you're hearing a lot of people say we weren't expecting it, i've been covering this thing since friday. we were actually expecting it. if it keeps coming as it was expected, harvey could soon become the wettest tropical storm to ever be recorded in the united states. there's an obvious next question. where does all that water go.

it's catastrophic flooding. that is a word that the national weather service doesn't usually use. harris county police say it has conducted more than 2,200 high-water rescues so far. harris county is the county of which houston is the seat. these images we're seeing are reminisce inlt of another close sal storm from 2005, hurricane katrina. anything we can learn from that, help us out from here. take a look at this guy. he's the face -- he's on the phone, actually, so you can't look at them. you've seen his face lots. it's the face of hurricane katrina. if you were watching any tv in august of 2005 you know lieutenant general russell hon array who is on the phone with me again. general, you and i have spent some time together in the last few days as we did during katrina. i have to tell you a couple things. the governor had suggested people leave houston. the mayor had said otherwise and when asked about this a few minutes ago the governor said discussions about evacuation are behind us. i guess he's right because we couldn't can't have those discussions now.

general, we knew there was hey lot of rain coming. we knew houston was going to flood and we knew it was going to be catastrophic and serious. >> absolutely. and i think publicly everybody understands that and the houston leadership is under enough stress now trying to handle the search and rescue, but this is the first storm of hurricane season. and we hope that -- i would hope not to see this election again not to evacuate people when every weather man from all over the united states. >> yep. yep. >> including the european model said it's going to come and it's going to stay four or five days. >> yes. >> houston is going it flood. >> yep. >> and this thing was, again, we would need to deal with search and rescue now and help people get out of there, but this is not a model to be replicated anywhere on earth. >> yes. >> when you have a storm coming, you've got to evacuate. >> bill containers in our newsroom was telling us on friday what kind of rain this was going to be, so this idea

that people are perpetuating that we didn't know. the only reason i say that, general, is because the reason i'm talking to you is because we want to learn lessons. we want to not fall into the same traps. what have we got in houston? we have a situation that is somewhat reminiscent of what you saw in new orleans, but we've got some better situations. we got the police intact. they don't seem to be at loggerheads with the populous. the convention center still has power. what are you worried about and what do you think is really working. >> it is so big, the infrastructure is collapsing. in the power grid, the places where you get gas, where you get medicine, all of those places evacuated. now is the time for texas lawmakers to start talking about a generator law. you know, we only have one state with a partial generator law. you might say what is that? that is every gas station, every pharmacy should have a

generator, because once we get to recover, you've got to get the power grid back up. and until the power grid come up, people cannot live in their communities. in order for them to live in their communities, they've got to have gasoline. so the gas stations have to be refilled immediately and the government is going to have to get involved with that. and we need a generator law in texas because this power grid will not work and people will not be able to cleanup their homes unless they can get gas. >> right. >> so that is a problem. and texas don't have a generator law. >> right. and this is something you don't think, you take for granted that you go to a gas station, you fill gas. it needs power. gas stations without power cannot give you the gas that you need. you can't get your house cleaned up. we've got water, weaver got -- you have to have medication. and the fact that is the fema admin straighter, william brock long is telling people now to understand that at best this is a woke's long disruption.

at worst there are some homes, this is very much reminiscent of katrina in new orleans, there are going to be some homes that are going to be uninhabit alk, maybe for years and forever. >> if that's what he said, it was i say misunderstood. we just went through pay major flood right here in baton rouge and i spent three weeks in a shelter helping people. this is more than a three weeks' disruption. those people will not be back in their homes for several weeks. because they've got to go in and gut them out, muck them out. you've got to take care of the debris. most of them don't have cars. they've got to get a car company and get their cars replaced. all that has to happen. they need to go online right no you and apply for fema assistance. as soon as they can get to a computer or 1800 number, call because they'll have money in your account within days. it comes very quick.

that system works. that is a big improvement from katrina. there's a lot of good things they've done, but the challenges remain the same and this is a lot bigger operation than katrina. they need more trams, more trucks and more helicopters. >> so we've got the national flood insurance program which the fema director said is activity. so if you have a policy, you call them. fema is activated in 18 counties and disaster -- they said there's 8,500 fema staff now who have been dispatched in texas. and general, there are a lot of these urban search and rescue, usa r teams from across the country that are descending on houston now coming from new york, new jersey, los angeles. they're coming in from all over the country and they're coming in with food and water for their teams. how do they get bu is the system so that they're helpful. >> they'll work with the local fire chiefs. that's how they'll be distributed through the fire

departments. the fire chiefs are in charge of the search and rescue, and they will sbe gate with them of. that normally works pretty sh t smoothly. i tell you what, one of the challenges we're going to have is make sure people that's been exposed ask for a tetanus shot. number two and that there will be pay lot of people here who have flooded before. >> yep. >> and we need an exception to the flood insurance policy. here is why. if you flooded three years ago or if you flooded and they may have got you back in your home, one of the things fema gave everybody was three years' insurance. if you did not maintain that insurance between that flood out and this one, fema will say you're none compliant and they will not give you nothing. that law needs to change. >> yep. >> and every congressman out there needs to change that law because poor people -- they can't afford the insurance, so

they couldn't keep the insurance up. now they've lost their home again and they're going to be penalized because they were not compliant and they didn't keep the insurance. that insurance is expensive. >> right. the point you always make to me is it's the poor who are the worst off. they're the ones who don't have the insurance and the options. they'rement ones who don't evacuate because of the expense of going to stay in a hotel or traveling to another city. >> right. >> they're always the ones. in new orleans it was the same thing. it was new orleans' worst off. >> absolutely. and everybody on sub cyst ens, the governor should release their sub cyst ens checks today so they can be self sustaining. >> all right. >> if they're on sub cyst ens, the money can go in the bank tonight. the treasurer can do it. i don't know why they haven't done it. it's the 27th28th of the month. they've got to wait two or three more days for their check. put it in the bank tonight. >> let me ask you this. one of the issues you had in new

orleans because it was a few days in and it was this time of year, tempers flared. people were getting into it with the police. what is the state of mind you recommend people be in now, understanding this is not a two or three-day event. as you said, it is going to be weeks at best, if not longer. what do people have to think about now as opposed to being angry and frustrated that they're not in their homes? >> well, don't assume just because you see some people going into a pharmacy that they're going in there to loot. people are going to start looking for food as they become isolated. you know, the people you see evacuating right now are the able bodied that's moving out and willingly trying to get out, but there will still be people that are isolated. the people will go in there for survival and try to get pood and water. and they should not be shot. >> yep. >> they're in a survival mode. that is something to be considered. and when we see that, we need to understand that they might be in

the survival mode. and we must continue to encourage civilians to go there with their boats. since the flood of 1927, most people throughout these floods were saved by neighbors and what we see happening today is not an anomaly. this has been the way it's always been done. and they save more people, the civilians, the good samaritans than the organized search and rescue teams. >> this is good advice, irsir. they should not be shut. i remember you telling a soldier to put the guns down. general, always good to talk to you. it's never a good circumstance, though. general retired u.s. army general russell hon array responsible for leading federal troops through katrina and rescuing thousands of people. let's get to nbc meteorologist steven who has been tracking rainfall totals for us today and for a long time. steve, i've just got to tell you, i know i haven't slept a lot in the last several days,

but you and i been working together since late last week and you and r one i've talked to said that this was going to happen and that this was not the weirdest outside possibility that this much rain was going to come to houston. it was actually well within the projections. i just want to keep this clear because people keep saying we didn't know it was going to happen. >> yeah. the case was we knew that the flooding would be the worst aspect of the storm. we didn't realize that it would strengthen into a category 4 before landfall. that was a bit of a surprise. the rainfall amounts we knew this was going to happen. we didn't know exactly where, but we knew somewhere in southeastern texas we would see feet of rain. and that's indeed what we have right now. look at this. over an extension and i'll draw the distance tool here. actually -- all right. that tool didn't work. but we have over about 200 miles of two to three feet of water. so just unbelievable totals. and again, salt in the wounds, it's still raining right now. so these are all the river

gauges that are going on in the houston metro area and you can see they're at major flood stage. some of these rivers are at record flood stage. so people that are in their homes that live along these rirz and streams sometimes can't get out because the roads are impasseable and that situation isn't kbroofg. i think this is a fascinating image for you right now. this is from earlier on today as the center was over land. but look what happens as the center approaches water, an explosion of the thunderstorms so this system, the vitality of this system is getting healthier again and what that means, more heavy rainfall for the houston area up to louisiana. >> this is now feeding off of itself. thanks very much. president trump is expected to speak at a press conference momentarily. we're going to listen in. we are expecting him to make comments on the situation in texas as we know it is going to get more serious before it gets better. let's listen in. >> i'll 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. he's done an i look forward to the trip. so i'll be going there tomorrow. we're leaving at about 8:30 in the morning. we don't know exactly we'll be -- we'll notify you soon. we may actually go back on saturday depending on where the storm goes. we may go to louisiana on saturday. >> are you surprised at the magnitude? >> it's the biggest ever. they're saying it's the biggest, it's historic. it's like -- really like texas if you think about it, but it is a historic amount of water in particular. there's never been anything like it, so the people are handling its amazingly well and the people of texas have really

persevered. and when you watch the spirit and the enthusiasm and helping each other, team work, it's been something for say -- i think even in finland they would say it's incredible what they have able to do. >> we have noticed that. it's wonderful. >> we're leaving tomorrow at about 8:30 in the morning. >> will you be doing -- >> well, we have done a few cabinet meetings to make sure everything is coordinated. we're dealing with congress and as you know it will be an expensive situation. we want to take care of the people of texas and louisiana, let's see what happens, the flow is heading to louisiana as we speak. but we'll be there are to the people of louisiana very much so. so we'll see you tomorrow. guess you'll see both of us in a couple of minutes in the east room. thank you all very much. >> thank you. >> all right. that was just moments ago. let's go to peter alexander at

the white house. peter, what were you listening for, what did we get from the president there? >> well, we have been hearing from the president over the course of last several days using his favorite megaphone, twitter and now we're hearing from him in person. alongside the finnish president in the oval office and we we'll hear from the of two of them as he's expected to make some more currents about the hurricane and the federal response as they wrap up this bilateral meeting. then he visits with reporters where they'll pepper him with questions as well. the president will be traveling alongside the first lady, melania trump. as we understand it right now, the intention at this moment -- the plan remains to try to go to corpus christi. the governor of texas said that he wasn't going to houston. he didn't want to go anywhere where he'd disrupt the efforts there. the evacuations where the

response was most immediate. it appears he'll be making multiple stops in texas and corpus christi is the first one as we understand it. unclear where the second stop will be and as he indicated in an effort to cast himself as the commander of chief in this moment that's sucked up all the oxygen as all americans are watching this horrific crisis taking place in texas, the president has made it clear he intends to go back there repeatedly perhaps saturday and sunday and maybe louisiana as well. >> all right. we'll continue our coverage on the president's and much more of our coverage or half harvey's wrath unleashing on the southeast coast. >> god is amazing. god is good. we have been stuck here for two days. yeah, god is good. god is amazing. he will spare you. trust me and believe me.

god is good. my baby kept me alive. >> you can see that woman's story tonight on "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. this is the story of john smith. not this john smith. or this john smith. or any of the other hundreds of john smiths that are humana medicare advantage members. no, it's this john smith. who we paired with a humana team member to help address his own specific health needs. at humana, we take a personal approach to your health, to provide care that's just as unique as you are. no matter what your name is.

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we're seeing texans helping texans and people supporting the red cross, supporting the salvation army. that makes a huge, huge

difference and texas is grateful for the prayers and all the incredible generosity. >> texas senator ted cruz ahead of the briefing by texas governor greg abbott seen there and victoria was just declared a federal disaster area. one of 18 counties that the president just declared in texas and victoria was where we were spending friday night and saturday covering it because that was the population center closest to where that category 4 storm came on to shore. >> reporter: well, victoria has taken the brunt of the storm, so the rainfall has been consistent. the wind has been consistent. but the main concern now for the folks in victoria is this river here behind me. this is the guadelupe river. as you can see it is getting dangerously close to getting above that bridge which basically means it floods this entire low-lying area. we are about 100 yards from the

residential neighborhood that sits pretty low and a lot of the streets are already impassable, they have debris blocking the way. so folks here have been without power for the past two days. they surfaced today to get supplies. we have seen them at the grocery store and long lines at the gas station. if this river floods which is expected to do, there could be more dangerous flooding and trouble for them that's still to come. >> are you expecting more rain there in victoria? >> reporter: yes. we're having a lull right now. but it is expected and it has been coming very steadily throughout the day. i mean, sheets of rain this morning. throughout the afternoon. and it's just about to pick up again. so yes, victoria has been consistently raining here since the beginning and that is why these river levels are where they are. >> all right.

catie beck, thank you for the reporting you have done over the last several days. that closes out this busy hour for mow. i'll be see you at 11:00 p.m. eastern today. you can see me on snapchat and particularly pornd -- important with all the news we are getting. "deadline: white house" starts right now. hello, everybody. it is 4:00. i'm john heilemann filling in for nicolle wallace who let me here despite there's a 30% chance i'll burn the show to the ground in her absence. we are watching the east room where president trump will hold a news conference with the president of finland. this is the first time making remarks, and picturing pouring in from houston should be the somber back drop. the president tweeted messages of encouragement throughout the weekend to millions of people feeling the effects of