US President Barack Obama has said Hurricane Irene recovery effort could go on for days or weeks, but hailed the disaster response operation as an “exemplary” display of good government.
The president, who took pains to show Americans he was in charge of the emergency effort, amid memories of the botched response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, also remembered the 14 people killed in the storm.
“I want people to understand that this is not over. Response and recovery efforts will be an ongoing operation,” Obama said in a short statement in the White House Rose Garden.
