Texas Gov. Abbott: Houston suffering 'once-in-a-lifetime flooding event'

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Gov. Greg Abbott: Recovery will be a long process in Texas

Texas governor speaks out on 'Special Report'

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott told Fox News' "Special Report with Bret Baier" Tuesday night that "it will be many more days before the water recedes" in Houston after Tropical Storm Harvey dropped record levels of rain on America's fourth-largest city.

"Just because the water recedes doesn't mean that all the problems are fixed," Abbott told host Bret Baier. "Because of the size and magnitude of this flooding, we need to come to the sober reality that this is going to be a long-time process.

"We've been dealing with [FEMA Administrator] Brock Long all day long and he's been emphasizing the necessity that everybody come to grips with how long this is going to take in order to rebuild the Houston area because of this once in a lifetime flooding incident," Abbott went on.

Harvey was forecast to move inland Wednesday, bringing its downpours to Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee and parts of Missouri. The system has dumped up to 51 inches of rain on parts of southeastern Texas, a record for any storm in the continental United States.

Abbott praised federal and state officials for what he described as "seamless" coordination, saying "I've never seen it work as well." He also praised President Donald Trump, who came to Texas to survey the damage left by Harvey.

"Most important was the compassion and concern that I could see on the President's face and his reactions," Abbot said. "The president is very concerned about Texans and is very committed to helping us address our needs."