Perry to Tour North Texas Tornado Devastation
By: Jay Root, The Texas Tribune
Updated: April 5, 2012
"We're thankful that there's been no reported loss of life at this point in time," Perry told reporters at the Capitol on Wednesday. "We know there are a lot of North Texans who are digging out of rubble and seeing life possessions lost to these storms."
Perry is scheduled to meet with emergency responders and then hold a news conference in hard-hit Lancaster on Thursday morning.
The storm damaged more than 600 homes and left 150 people in shelters, according to The Associated Press. Dramatic video of the storm showed tractor-trailers lifted into the sky like toys and a swirl of flying rooftops and uprooted trees.
"We get another sobering reminder of how quickly nature can turn on us and the devastation that can result when these storms hit with this velocity and quickness," Perry said. "Certainly our thoughts and prayers are with our citizens as they face the aftermath of the disaster in that part of the state."
Two people were seriously injured in Lancaster, according to the AP. Several more had less serious injuries.
Perry noted that state emergency responders were holding their annual meeting in San Antonio when the storms struck.
"And very quickly a makeshift headquarters was put together on the floor of the San Antonio Convention Center and actually up and operating a very short time after the first tornadoes touched down," Perry said.
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at http://www.texastribune.org/texas-people/rick-perry/perry-tour-devastation/.
