Washington [U.S.A.] August 27 (ANI): President Donald Trump on Saturday thanked "all of the volunteers helping with Hurricane Harvey," which has claimed one life and has so far dumped as much as 14 inches of rain on Texas since making landfall late Friday.

Trump took to Twitter and wrote: "THANK YOU to all of the great volunteers helping out with #HurricaneHarvey relief in Texas!".

He also tweeted earlier: "Closely monitoring #HurricaneHarvey from Camp David. We are leaving nothing to chance. City, State and Federal Govs. working great together!"

The Hurricane Harvey has been downgraded to a tropical storm (a Category 2 storm), with sustained winds of 70 mph and one person has reportedly been died.

Rainfall will be heavy, with an estimated 15 to 30 inches of rain falling in many areas and as high as 40 inches in some from today through Wednesday, the National Weather Service added.

The Hurricane Harvey-Category 4 storm struck South Texas late on Friday (local time), knocking down trees, power poles and signs, but forecasters predicted that water levels will still rise as torrential rain and blasting winds would continue over the next few days.

The storm is Trump's first major natural disaster in office and will be the first major hurricane to hit the U.S. since 2005.

Harvey has the "highest potential to kill the most amount of people and cause the most amount of damage," said Brock Long, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. (ANI)


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