Abbott: Texas isn’t running out of gas; no special session for Harvey

Sept. 01--2:50 p.m. update: Gov. Greg Abbott said Texas is not running out of fuel, but numerous states are sending gasoline this way to ensure there's a "greater supply."

Texas is mending, the governor said during an afternoon update on Hurricane Harvey at the state's Emergency Operations Center in Austin. All 50 states have offered air support; the governor has taken up 43 on that offer.

Approximately 1,000 people were evacuated from the Beaumont area Thursday night, and more than 400,000 people have requested FEMA assistance, the governor said. The agency has granted approximately $80 million in assistance.

President Donald Trump said earlier this week that he would work with Congress to ensure Texas gets disaster relief dollars.

Abbott estimated Wednesday the state will need more than $125 billion, topping relief funds for 2005's Hurricane Katrina. In-state, there won't be a need for a special session, Abbott said.

Recapping his Thursday with Vice President Mike Pence, Abbott said what was more evident than rubble was Texans' resilience.

EARLIER: Gov. Greg Abbott will give an update Friday afternoon on storm damage and relief efforts around the state.

Earlier this week, Abbott announced that he would expand the number of National Guardsmen helping with recovery in the state to 24,000. Abbott also announced Wednesday that the Department of Defense would send vehicles and boats to Texas and that he'd accepted Mexico's offer of assistance.

Abbott's Friday update comes a day after Vice President Mike Pence, the governor and Cabinet members visited Corpus Christi, Rockport and Victoria to survey Harvey damage, meet with survivors and visit with volunteers.

Earlier in the week, President Donald Trump made stops in Corpus Christi and Austin for briefings on damage and recovery efforts. Trump said Tuesday that he would work with Congress to secure federal money for recovery and predicted it would be "a costly proposition."

"There's never been anything so expensive in our country's history," Trump said. "There's never been anything so historic in terms of damage and in terms of ferocity as what we've witnessed with Harvey."

___

(c)2017 Austin American-Statesman, Texas

Visit Austin American-Statesman, Texas at www.statesman.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.