Senator Lankford tours the devastation in Sulphur
Sunday afternoon U.S. Senator James Lankford toured the Sulphur devastation and mentioned getting help to everyone in the state affected by the storms whether insured or not.
SULPHUR, Okla. (KFOR) - Sunday afternoon U.S. Senator James Lankford toured the Sulphur devastation and mentioned getting help to everyone in the state affected by the storms whether insured or not.
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"It's incredibly painful to be able to see how much destruction has happened in all those buildings. But really painful when you get in a residential area and see how many families are both uninsured or underinsured or they're trying to be able to just clear out debris," said Senator Lankford.
As of Sunday night officials said that one woman was found dead in downtown Sulphur, several dozens were injured. No news yet on the amount of buildings destroyed by the storms.
Earlier Sunday Governor Kevin Stitt spoke to the destruction as well and stated that funding from the state would be headed to tornado victims. The governor then thanked President Biden's administration for the quick thinking to send federal aid.
Senator Lankford was asked what he is doing to get federal aid to those who need it.
"So we're walking through over the next 24 hours trying to be able to get the paperwork in and get the facts and the information. There's a formula that's affected based on uninsured to try to figure out how do we get them some level of assistance so they can help clear debris and also get to a next place to be able to get started," said Senator Lankford. "As we walk through today, obviously we're expecting insurance companies and our insurance commissioner to oversee that process to make sure they're on the ground here immediately."
He said that over the next day or so he will reach out to FEMA representatives so that those who are uninsured can get help too.
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"They're doing evaluations so they can immediately help the uninsured. That's a much bigger jump but we are trying to get some federal aid to them so that can make that transition to their next place. We're going through that process. That's one of the primary elements, walking through with the FEMA directors today to be able to make sure that we're ready to make decisions tomorrow and in the next day."
Lankford then spoke to the injured and the loss of life that was discovered over the past 24 hours.
"There were more than 20 tornadoes that hit at this point. This is a town that I know well. I know Murray County well and have spent a lot of time here over the years. This is a town that people might not recognize anymore because of this. Now you'll see it and go, I don't even have my bearings anymore because there's so much damage and there's so much destruction here."