Gov. Greg Abbott asked President Trump on Friday for a presidential disaster declaration in advance of Hurricane Harvey’s landfall, which would allow federal monies to flow to the areas heavily damaged by the storm.

“This is going to be a major disaster,” Abbott said after a briefing from emergency officials at the Texas Department of Public Safety. “My goal is to make it through this storm in a way that we lose no lives.”

During a news conference about final preparations, Abbott called upon residents along coastal Texas to strongly consider leaving — even if they are not in an area with mandatory evacuations.

“You need to strongly consider evacuating,” Abbott told reporters. “There will be a tremendous amount of rain dropped upon miles and miles of Texas.”

Abbott spent much of the morning on a conference call with emergency officials from local jurisdications from across the coastal region, who briefed him on their readiness.