Gov. Greg Abbott announced the federal declaration Friday after formally requesting it for the Austin-area counties Thursday afternoon.

President Donald Trump was expected to arrive in Kerr County, Texas, Friday afternoon, one week after the area was struck by catastrophic flooding.

July 9 (Reuters) - U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called on Wednesday for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to be eliminated in its current form, even as the disaster-relief agency deployed specialists and supplies to Texas to help respond to devastating floods.

The risk of the catastrophic flooding that struck Texas Hill Country as people slept on July 4 and left at least 120 dead was potentially underestimated by federal authorities, according to an ABC News analysis of Federal Emergency Management Agency data, satellite imagery and risk modeling.

On Thursday, the Texas House and Senate announced the creation of committees on disaster preparedness and flooding.

President Donald Trump is traveling to central Texas on Friday to survey the aftermath of a catastrophic flood that has killed more than 100 people and put his administration on the sudden defensive over its emergency response efforts.

DHS head Kristi Noem refuted a CNN report that her requirement for personal sign-off on DHS contracts over $100,000 slowed emergency response to deadly Texas flooding.

The alert, a Blue Alert issued by the FBI, named Benjamin Song, 32, as the suspect wanted in the July 4 shooting of a police officer at the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarad