Perry Surveys Scope of Damage
Governor Perry said, “There is no one better than Texas at dealing with emergencies." Photo by Bob Daemrrich/Texas TribuneTexas Governor Rick Perry took an aerial tour of North Texas today to assess the damage caused by Tuesday’s tornadoes. Perry later spoke to emergency management officials in the town of Lancaster, which saw more homes damaged and destroyed than any other area.
“It could have been worse. And the reason it wasn’t worse, I would suggest, is because of these local first responders and how they dealt with this,” Perry said. “There is no one better than Texas at dealing with emergencies. That’s a fact. Our first responders in particular are the best in the country.”
Preliminary assessments from the American Red Cross show that nearly 650 structures were affected by the tornadoes – 200 were destroyed and more than 100 sustained major damage.
Officials in Dallas, Tarrant and Kaufman counties are doing a full evaluation of the damage caused by twisters earlier this week. Governor Perry’s office will then submit that information to Washington to seek a federal disaster declaration.
