WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama says he is instructing his disaster response team to get tornado victims in Oklahoma everything they need “right away.”
“In an instant neighbourhoods were destroyed, dozens of people lost their lives, many more were injured,” Obama said from the White House State Dining Room. “Among the victims were young children trying to take shelter in the safest place they knew – their school.”
Obama calls the devastation that tore through the Oklahoma City suburbs, quote, “one of the most destructive tornados in history,” even though he said the extent of the damage is still unknown.
Obama spoke Tuesday after an Oval Office briefing on the latest developments from his disaster response team and as Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Craig Fugate was heading to Oklahoma.
Obama has declared a major disaster in Oklahoma, ordering federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts.
The president offered prayers and said there’s a long road of recovery ahead. But he said the victims won’t travel alone and will have the resources they need.
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