Moore, Okla., Tornado Was 'Storm Of Storms'

Melissa Block and Robert Siegel give the latest in Oklahoma after a huge tornado tore through the state on Monday.

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel.

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

I'm Melissa Block. And we begin this hour in Oklahoma.

(SOUNDBITE MONTAGE OF NEWS CONFERENCE)

GOV. MARY FALLIN: It's been a very trying couple of days for the state of Oklahoma.

MAYOR GLENN LEWIS: It doesn't get any easier, especially with the loss of life.

MAYOR MICK CORNETT: This was the storm of storms.

BLOCK: That's Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett; the mayor of Moore, Glenn Lewis; and Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, speaking today at a news conference.

SIEGEL: Yesterday, a massive tornado more than a mile wide, with winds as strong as 210 miles per hour, touched down in Moore and south Oklahoma City. According to the state medical examiner's office, 24 people are confirmed dead, nine of them children. Seven of those children were at the Plaza Towers Elementary School. Rescue crews are continuing the search for survivors.

BLOCK: President Obama has sent the head of FEMA, Craig Fugate, to oversee the disaster response. And this morning, from the White House, the president promised support.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: The people of Moore should know that their country will remain on the ground there; for them, beside them, as long as it takes. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.