President Donald Trump on Sunday signed a major disaster declaration for Kerr County after deadly flash flooding through Texas’ Hill Country.

“These families are enduring an unimaginable tragedy, with many lives lost, and many still missing,” Trump said in a social media post announcing the signing.

The declaration comes one day after U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem arrived to survey the storm-battered region, including a visit to Camp Mystic, where a group of girls were apparently caught in fast-moving floodwaters.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has expanded the state’s disaster declaration beyond Kerr County to include counties near Austin, but Sunday’s federal declaration appeared confined to Kerr County, the hardest-hit area.

Over the weekend, assets from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the U.S. Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection have been assisting the local search and rescue efforts, state and federal officials said at Saturday’s news conference.

Trump’s declaration will provide federal disaster assistance to individuals seeking housing, home repairs and loans to cover home damages, according to a FEMA news release.

It will also make federal funding available to government agencies and nonprofit organizations for emergency work and facility repair and replacement “on a cost-sharing basis.”

The president said the Coast Guard and state first responders have saved more than 850 people from the flooding.

Following Trump’s declaration on Sunday, Noem said in a social media post that her department is deploying federal resources to Texas first responders and will continue supporting state and local officials “as search efforts continue and recovery begins.”

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(Staff writer Suryatapa Chakraborty contributed to this report.)

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