Houston floods: White House seeks disaster aid from Congress

Washington, Sep 1 (IANS) The White House will ask Congress for emergency funding to help those affected by Hurricane Harvey.

"The American people are with you," Vice President Mike Pence said during a visit to Texas, BBC reported on Thursday.

"We will be here every day until this city and this state and this region rebuild bigger and better than ever before," he said.

US President Donald Trump is expected to propose an initial $5.9 billion. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said earlier the state might need more than $125 billion from the federal government.

At least 33 people have died in the storm and its aftermath.

Pence said 311,000 people had registered for disaster assistance, and that he hoped for bipartisan support in Congress for the funding request.

Visiting the battered town of Rockport, Pence paid tribute to the people of Texas: "The sights and sounds and conversations we had today were just overwhelming.

"I think the resilience of the people of Texas has been inspiring. To see people who've gone through the horror of one of the largest natural disasters in American history to be standing shoulder to shoulder, passing out food to their neighbours, helping their neighbours clear out their homes with a smile on their face... it's humbling to me and it's deeply inspiring."

The White House also said Trump would donate $1 million of his own money to the relief effort.

Earlier, a senior White House aide said about 100,000 homes, not all of which were fully insured, had been affected by the storm and the flooding that accompanied it.