Obama promises support for Oklahoma tornado victims

Six days after a ferocious tornado devastated Moore in Oklahoma, US President Barack Obama visited the city's residents, consoling them and and promising that the government will be behind them "every step of the way."
The president's tour of the city included visits to the victims and first responders and a firsthand look at the destruction brought by a twister that was rated as the most powerful on the five-step scale used to measure a tornado's might.
The White House said the Federal Emergency Management Agency has already provided USD 57 million in rebates and incentives to help build about 12,000 storm shelters in Oklahoma.

Once on the ground in Oklahoma, Obama urged the American people to make contributions, saying the damage was "pretty hard to comprehend." Obama noted the tornado destroyed some 1,200 homes and damaged thousands more.
The President also thanked Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin and Moore's Mayor Glenn Lewis for their quick response, and praised other local officials instrumental in helping save lives and jumpstart the town's recovery efforts.
Shortly after his arrival on a partly cloudy day, Obama first stop was the demolished site of the Plaza Towers Elementary School, where seven students were killed when the tornado turned the one-story building into a heap of bricks, broken concrete and twisted metal.

"When we say that we've got your back, I promise you, we keep our word. If you talk to folks in Alabama who have been affected over the last couple of years; you talk to the folks at Joplin, who I know have actually sent volunteers down here to Moore; if you talk to folks in New Jersey and New York, they'll tell you that when we say we're going to be there until you completely rebuild, we mean it," Obama said to the citizens of the city.
After visiting Plaza Towers, President Obama stopped by Moore Fire Department Station to meet with first responders. The fire station has served as a command center throughout the disaster, first for search and rescue and now for survivor services.