'You are doing a great job': Trump lauds the director of FEMA for the agency's handling of Hurricane Harvey

AP

Matt Looingvill struggles with his umbrella as he tries to walk in the wind and rain, Friday, Aug. 25, 2017, in Corpus Christi, Texas.

President Donald Trump has commended the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for his handling of the hurricane now hitting the Texas Gulf Coast.

In a tweet Saturday morning addressed to FEMA head Brock Long, Trump said: "You are doing a great job - the world is watching! Be safe."

Hurricane Harvey, the fiercest to hit the U.S. in more than a decade, is posing the first major emergency management test of Trump's administration.

Trump added an update early Saturday morning in a separate tweet.

"Closely monitoring #HurricaneHarvey from Camp David. We are leaving nothing to chance. City, State and Federal Govs. working great together!"

Trump also tweeted that he got Sen. Chuck Grassley's message "loud and clear." Grassley warned Trump on Friday to keep a close eye on the hurricane.

"@realDonaldTrump #hurricane keep on top of hurricane Harvey and dont mke same mistake Pres Bush made w Katrina," Grassley tweeted Friday morning.

"We have fantastic people on the ground, got there long before #Harvey. So far, so good!" Trump said, tagging Chuck Grassley in the tweet.

Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas on Friday night, packing sustained wind speeds as high as 130 mph. It has since been downgraded to a Category 1 storm with maximum winds of 80 mph, though the National Hurricane Center warned that Harvey would bring with it "life-threatening and devastating flooding."

Forecasters predict that the storm will stall until Tuesday, dumping up to 40 inches of rain onto much of Texas.