Donald Trump marvels at 'turnout' during Texas visit for Hurricane Harvey disaster

Donald Trump marveled at the size of the turnout for his trip to support the victims of the Hurricane Harvey disaster in Texas on Tuesday. The US president, standing on a ladder between two fire engines, said: "What a crowd. What a turnout." Mr Trump, who made the trip with his wife Melania, the first lady, told Texans: "We are going to get you back and operating immediately." U.S. President Donald Trump holds a flag of the state of Texas after receiving a briefing on Tropical Storm Harvey relief efforts at a local fire station where local residents gathered to welcome the president in Corpus Christi Credit: Reuters He said he wanted the response to the crisis to be held up as an example of how to manage future natural disasters. "This was of epic proportion," the president declared. "We want to do it better than ever before. We want to be looked at in five years, in 10 years from now as, 'This is the way to do it.'" Donald Trump arrives in Houston for briefings on Hurricane Harvey 00:50 He added: "This is historic. It's epic what happened, but you know what, it happened in Texas, and Texas can handle anything." However, officials were less optimistic, amid fears that continued rainfall could make the flooding in and around Houston even worse. At least 11 people are confirmed to have died and thousands are in makeshift shelters across the city. "This recovery is going to be frustrating," said Brock Long, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. "Recovery is a slow process but rest assured we're doing everything we can." Harvey has drawn comparisons with Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans 12 years ago, killing 1,800 people.  Former President George W. Bush was widely criticised for his administration's handling of the response to that disaster, taking a heavy toll on public support of his administration. At a stop in Austin, later in the day, Mr Trump said: "Nobody has ever seen anything this long and nobody has ever seen this much water. "Probably there has never been anything so expensive in our country's history. "Harvey, It sounds like such an innocent name, right, but it's not innocent."