A reporter from CBS News Texas asked the president Friday if more lives could've been saved if emergency alerts were issued earlier.

"It’s hard to believe the devastation," Trump said. "Trees that are 100 years old just ripped out of the ground. I've never seen anything like this, and I've seen a lot of bad ones."

Mr. Trump and Abbott promised to rebuild the devastated region, although the president recognized that what was lost can never be recovered.

President Donald Trump met with victims' families and surveyed the damage of catastrophic floods that struck the state one week ago.

"The first lady and I are here in Texas to express the love and support and the anguish of our entire nation in the aftermath of this really horrific and deadly flood," Trump said as he spoke at a roundtable event with first responders and local officials.

While he’s been in communities after hurricanes and tornadoes, President Trump said the devastation he saw after an aerial tour of the flood-ravaged Texas Hill Country on Friday was different.

As President Trump surveys flood damage in Texas, several congressional Democrats have signed a letter demanding an oversight hearing into his administration’s response. One of them, Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas),