Hurricane Harvey: Guess who's coming to dinner? An alligator at my table

Brian Foster returned to his flood-hit Texas home thinking the worst was over - only to find a giant new problem in his dining room.

A nine-foot alligator was found sheltering under the dining table at the property near Lake Houston.

Foster was returning to the property on Friday (local time) with a work crew to begin the clean-up after Hurricane Harvey pounded the area.

He reported the alligator intruder to emergency services, who in turn alerted game wardens, local TV network KTRK reported.

Wildlife officials arrived at this house within 20 minutes and it took four men to tape the alligator's mouth shut and carry it out of the house.

The Harris County Precinct 4 Constable's Office said on Twitter that it would be "delivered back into his natural habitat soon."

Constable Deputies met by alligator in a flooded home near Lake Houston. He will be delivered back into this natural habitat soon. #Harvey pic.twitter.com/y0E0sfB6at

— Mark Herman, Harris County Constable Precinct 4 (@Pct4Constable) September 1, 2017

Texas Parks and Wildlife officials had warned that alligators may be found in "areas where they aren't normally observed" following the storm.

"Alligators are wary of people but keep your distance," the service said.

"Never approach, harass or feed an alligator. When water levels recede, the alligator will likely disappear as well."

Meanwhile President Donald Trump has met with victims of Hurricane Harvey in Houston and is witnessing the effects of the record-setting storm as he presses for a multi-billion-dollar aid package.

On Saturday Trump, facing the first natural disaster of his administration, was joined by his wife, Melania, as he passed out food and hugged, kissed and played with children at Houston's NRG Center, a 65,000-square-metre facility that is now the city's largest emergency shelter.

Trump, who is making his second trip to the stricken state this week, asked Congress late on Friday for an initial $US7.85 billion for hurricane recovery efforts.