Donald Trump meets Harvey flood victims as he returns to Texas

Trip to Houston comes after criticism over the President's lack of interaction with residents on first visit to state

President Donald Trump and Melania Trump meet a child impacted by Hurricane Harvey during a visit to the NRG Center in Houston (Susan Walsh/AP)

US President Donald Trump has flown to Houston on to meet with victims of Hurricane Harvey and see the effects of the record-setting storm while he presses for a multi-billion-dollar aid package.

Mr Trump, facing the first natural disaster of his administration, was joined by his wife, Melania, as he passed out food and hugged, kissed and played with children at Houston's NRG Center, a 700,000-square-foot (65,000 square metre) facility that is now the city's largest emergency shelter.

Mr Trump, who is making his second trip to the stricken state this week, asked Congress late on Friday for an initial $7.85 billion for hurricane recovery efforts. The request comes as Washington faces tough budget negotiations.

Mr Trump told reporters at the centre that his administration was moving fast to provide the financing for aid to the devastated region. “We are signing a lot of documents to get money,” he said.

Mr Trump appeared relaxed as he posed for photographs with volunteers and chatted with those relocated to the shelter alongside Texas Governor Greg Abbott.

Melania, the sleeves of her blue denim shirt rolled up, hugged a woman and chatted with a child.

“It has been a wonderful thing,” Mr Trump said of his meetings with the children as he helped serve food to evacuees amid shouts of “Thank you, sir.”

Mr Trump's visit came after a week of historic flooding in the area that killed at least 40 people, displaced more than 1 million and dumped as much as 50 inches (127 cm) of rain in some areas.

The trip may have political implications for Trump, who was criticized for not meeting with victims and not showing more empathy on his first trip to Texas on Tuesday.

Mr Trump stayed clear of the disaster zone earlier this week, saying he did not want to hamper rescue efforts. Instead, he met with Cabinet members, state and local leaders and first responders in the state capital Austin and Corpus Christi, where Harvey first hit, focusing on the logistics of the government response.

“That was reasonable criticism,” said Matt Mackowiak, chairman of the Republican Party in Travis County, Texas, who has praised the Trump administration'€™s handling of the disaster.

A number of area residents - even one who had voted Democrat - said they believed Mr Trump's latest visit was a positive, as it boosted morale in the area.

“It raises the morale,” Kevin Jason Hipolito, who identified himself as a Democrat, told reporters at the convention centre. “When he went to Corpus I was like, 'Man he just forgot about us.' This shows a lot of support. It perks up morale.”

However, there were signs everywhere that recovery, which Trump suggested “could take six months” rather than the years projected because of the spirit shown by the people of Texas, is a difficult prospect for many.

“Is he going to help? Can he help?” Devon Harris, 37, a construction worker, said at the convention center. “I lost my home. My job is gone. My tools are gone. My car is gone. My life is gone. What is Trump going to do?”

The city of Beaumont, that lost its drinking water system to Harvey, also struggled to restore service to its 120,000 residents on Saturday, and firefighters kept monitoring a crippled chemical plant that has twice been the scene of explosions and fires since the storm roared ashore and stalled over Texas.

Meanwhile, Houston began burying its dead with the storm being named for more than 40 deaths - with that toll set to increase. One of the latest deaths, reported in the Houston Chronicle, came from fire officials in the community of New Waverly, about 55 miles north of Houston, said a 6-month-old baby was missing and presumed dead after being ripped out of its parents' arms and swept away by floodwaters when the family fled their pickup truck last Sunday.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said he spoken President Trump about the importance of getting storm evacuees out of shelters and into housing - 37,000 people spent the night in shelter on Friday - and helping people who are still in their homes but in need of assistance. The mayor called his discussions with “very positive”.

Reuters