US President Donald Trump was briefed on Sunday about the path of Hurricane Irma and preparations made to respond to the storm by the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the White House said.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump spoke with the governors of Alabama, South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee. Those states are expected to be impacted by the storm after it makes its way up the west coast of Florida.
A disaster declaration was also issued by the president for Puerto Rico on Sunday.
Trump also expanded federal funds available to the US Virgin Islands in the aftermath of Irma, the White House said, according to Reuters.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Brock Long also praised the White House and Congress’s response to the storm.
Those islands have had massive power outages, but search-and-rescue operations had to wait out Hurricane Jose before they could begin recovery efforts there, Long said on ABC’s “This Week.”
“I‘m in great communication with the White House and Homeland Security,” Long said.
“We’ve all been working together. They realize what needs to be done to give me the enduring authority to push forward,” he added.
Florida Governor Rick Scott said he spoke with Trump on Sunday morning.
“He’s offered every resource there is of the federal government,” Scott told the ABC program, reported Reuters.
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Asharq Al-Awsat is the world’s premier pan-Arab daily newspaper, printed simultaneously each day on four continents in 14 cities. Launched in London in 1978, Asharq Al-Awsat has established itself as the decisive publication on pan-Arab and international affairs, offering its readers in-depth analysis and exclusive editorials, as well as the most comprehensive coverage of the entire Arab world.
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