Pence Visits Texas To See Harvey Damage First-Hand

Vice President Mike Pence is in Texas Thursday to meet with survivors and see first-hand the destruction caused by Hurricane, and then Tropical Storm, Harvey. It is the second visit in three days to the region by the White House.

Pence flew into Corpus Christi with his wife and then headed to Rockport to see the damage for himself and meet with people recovering from the storm.

"President Trump sent us here today," Pence told a crowd outside a church in Rockport.

As Pence got off Air Force Two, he stopped to speak with six members of the Coast Guard whose Corpus Christi base was badly damaged by the storm. They have been helping with relief efforts in Robstown.

Pence was accompanied by several members of the president's Cabinet, including Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta, Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, Secretary of Energy Rick Perry, Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin and Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke.

On Air Force Two, Duke briefed reporters on some of the latest information out of Texas.

• 232 shelters housing around 32,000 people in shelters
• Three mega centers, two in Houston and one in Dallas
• 21,000 federal workers are being mobilized, including those already in Texas
• 14,000 National Guard mobilized
• Of DHS employees: 3,500 FEMA workers are in Texas. 700 Coast Guard and 550 Customs Border Patrol officers are mobilized.
• The Coast Guard is handling overflow of 911 calls in Houston
• Estimates of calls coming in were as high as 900 per hour but now around 500 per hour. Seeing an uptick in calls from Beaumont, Port Arthur and Orange.
• Major disaster declaration in 30 Texas counties and five Louisiana parishes.
• Texans affected by mandatory evacuation: 779,000.
• Texans affected by voluntary evacuation: 980,000.
• In Louisiana: 7,000 mandatory, 133,000 voluntary evacuees
• Coast Guard reports it saved 3,000 lives
• Estimates 200,000 customers in Texas and 11,000 customers in Louisiana without power. Customer means anything with a meter, not a human.
• 120,000 residents without water in Beaumont

Also See: Disaster Relief Might Demand A New Approach To Aid From Congress

Duke said that the focus is now on restoring power and the Coast Guard is working to reopen Houston Ship Channel. One port is now open with restrictions.

They're allowing some cruise ships to return.

She added that a long term concern is housing.

Perry, the former Texas governor, also spoke with reporters on the trip from Washington. He said that he's confident Congress will deal with federal aid "in a timely way.

"This isn't about Texas," he said. "This is about America and American citizens. Houston is the most diversified city in America. You've got people from all over the world that have been impacted, folks who aren't American citizens that have been impacted."

"The idea that this is just about Texas is a bit of a misnomer. This is an international city, the world is watching this, so I've got every confidence in the world that the United States Congress recognizes that."

As for the fact that the majority of Texas Republicans had voted against aid for victims of Super Storm Sandy, Perry, like several other Texas Republicans in recent says, sidestepped the issue.

"I know there's all this banter about 'Well, your senator didn't vote for Sandy,'" he said. "But I wouldn't be distracted for a moment by that kind of banter. This is about now.

"This is about a diverse population that deserves the American government's support."

The first stop for Pence and his entourage was the First Baptist Church in Rockport where they were greeted by more than 150 people.

Local officials at the church included Rockport Mayor CJ Wax, Aransas County Judge Burt Mills and Fulton Mayor Jimmy Kendrick.

The front of the church, destroyed by Harvey, is a gaping hole, allowing you to see the chaos inside.

While Pence was welcome, there was a special greeting for the state's former governor, Perry, and is wife, Anita.

"Our First Lady of Texas," a man exclaimed as Anita Perry approached.

Her husband embraced people, even kneeling down as he listened to them.

They were welcomed at the church and introduced by Pastor Seth Jones and the Rev. Franklin Graham, who told a parable about Jesus guiding disciples through the storm.

He then turned it over to Abbott.

"Howdy, Texans," he said. "There is no storm as tough as the people of Texas.

Abbott then announced a "day of prayer."

Pence then delivered a message from Trump.

"We will be here today, we will be here tomorrow and we will be here every day until this city and this state and this region rebuilds bigger and better than before," he said.

Pence said the challenges facing Texas are "great.

"It's a long way to go, it's not months, it's years."

From there, they moved to a location staffed by Samaritan's Purse International, the group headed by Franklin Graham. The group is helping a neighborhood in a rural part of Rockport.

Members were working on a ranch-style home belonging to Joanna Sain. It was flooded by 2 feet of water during the height of the storm. Not much was left.

Abbott embraced Sain's 2-week-old great-grandson.

Workers had already piled mattresses, drywall, chairs, lights and the other remnants of a life lived on the gravel curb so that they could be hauled away.

Sain's daughter, Brttney, the mother of the newborn, said that "it means a lot" to have Pence there. "This is devastating.

"The fact that Trump and now he's here makes you appreciate what we have. They didn't have to come. What more can you ask for?"

Pence helped workers, putting on blue work gloves and helping move large branches on to a pile.

From there, they went to Aransas County Airport where three military helicopters flew them over the area so that they could the wide view of the destruction.

During the fly-over, Perry narrated for the others about the area that they were looking at.

After landing, they went to Victoria, where they stopped at a church where 250 volunteers from the Convoy of Hope, a faith-based organization, was providing food, water and other supplies.

Pence praised the work of the volunteers.

"Texas is inspiring America," he said, repeating his message from Trump spoken earlier.

"The best days for Victoria and the best days for Texas are yet to come," he added "God bless Texas."

Photo pool shot by Katie Leslie of The Dallas Morning News