Trump claims he saw 'horror of Harvey firsthand'; death toll touches 38

Trump was criticised after he visited Texas, which has been devastated by flooding. He did not meet victims and, during a speech, marvelled at the size of the crowd that turned out to see him.

Standing outside a Corpus Christi fire station, Trump said, "Thank you. We love you, you are special, we are here to take care of you. It's going well." He added: "What a crowd, what a turnout."

He tweeted later: "After witnessing first hand the horror & devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey,my heart goes out even more so to the great people of Texas!"

Andrew Beatty, the White House correspondent for the AFP news agency, tweeted in response: "I traveled with the President yesterday (Wednesday). Personally, I would not claim to have seen Harvey's horror and devastation first hand."

Hurricane Harvey, the costliest natural disaster in US history, may cost a whopping $ 160 billion in economic damages in Texas which resulted in massive destruction, killing 38 people and leaving tens of thousands homeless.

Harvey, now a tropical depression, made the second landfall yesterday, slamming into the Louisiana coast near the Texas border hitting the region with record-breaking rainfall and devastating floods.

Harvey has brought the heaviest rainfall in US history, soaking Texas with more than 52 inches since it first made landfall last Friday.

At least 38 people have been killed as a result of the devastating floods and that number was climbing as water receded, revealing the storm's awful toll, officials were quoted as saying by the New York Times.

Twenty people still remained missing in the city, according to Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo.