FEMA, state officials survey Oklahoma tornado damage in deadly storm

A Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator said Tuesday that “our heart aches for the loss of life” in tornadoes that left four dead and about 100 injured in Oklahoma.

FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell joined Gov. Kevin Stitt and Sen. James Lankford in surveying the damage in Marietta that was caused by the Saturday night tornado that struck the town about 100 miles south of Oklahoma City, killing one person.

“We’re going to work through the day to get a better understanding of what the impacts are across the state,” Criswell said. “I’ll give an update to the president on what I’ve seen and make sure we get the right federal resources” to each area.

The National Weather Service rated the tornado as an EF4 with wind speeds of up to 170 mph. It was one of at least 25 tornadoes the weather service confirmed having struck Oklahoma and north Texas Saturday night, 22 of them in Oklahoma.

Criswell will also survey damage in Sulphur, which was hit by an EF3 tornado with winds of up to 165 mph that left one dead. Another EF3 tornado with winds of up to 145 mph struck Holdenville, killing two people.

Stitt said the initial focus of recovery efforts is on people who were uninsured and helping businesses rebuild.

The governor noted that the state Legislature is currently meeting. “We’re still in session…… so if there is some kind of gap that we need to do on funding, we can absolutely get that across the finish line,” Stitt said.

The tornadoes, part of an outbreak of severe weather across the middle of the U.S., followed dozens of tornadoes that raked Iowa and Nebraska on Friday, killing one person.