White House: ‘We Will See Additional Losses of Life if History Is Any Precedent’

The White House is warning that more people are going to die as a result of the devastation wrought by Hurricane Harvey.

The homeland security adviser, Tom Bossert, said Thursday, said history shows people frequently die during the recovery stage of a disaster like Hurricane Harvey.

Here are his comments:

"A little word of caution. A lot of lost lives end up in this time — in this time zone right after a response. We lose, unfortunately, some lives in an immediate disaster, but then in the immediate response and recovery phase, people will use chainsaws, people will remove debris, people will be stressed. The elderly, when they’re stressed, you heard the doctor say, tend to get sick. That sickness can lead to death, unfortunately. And so, unfortunately, we will see additional losses of life if history is any precedent here or if precedent — if that history is any prologue, we will see an additional loss of life. So please try to avoid that, try to avoid strain and stress. Try to get to where there’s food, water, and shelter, and take care of yourself so that you can then take care of others.”