President Donald Trump speaks while meeting with FEMA Administrator Brock Long and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen in the Oval Office September 11, 2018 in Washington, DC.

President Donald Trump is expected to visit the areas affected by Hurricane Florence next week, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement Friday.

Hurricane Florence was downgraded to a tropical storm as of 5 p.m. ET Friday, the National Hurricane Center said. The storm has already claimed several lives in North Carolina after it made landfall Friday morning as a Category 1 hurricane, bringing torrential rainfall and flooding to the state.

Sanders said that President Trump will travel to the affected areas early to the middle of next week, "once it is determined his travel will not disrupt any rescue or recovery efforts."

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said later that day that President Trump's visit can be arranged at an "appropriate time."