‘Texas stands with you’: Gov. Abbott, Ted Cruz address deadly Perryton tornado
PERRYTON, Texas (KFDA) - Governor Greg Abbott is in Perryton today after a tornado tore through town, killing three and injuring dozens.
He hosted a news conference to address the state’s response to the tornadoes and severe weather conditions that impacted the state.
The Governor was joined by Representative Four Price, Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd, Perryton Mayor Kerry Symons, Police Chief Nick Yara, Fire Chief and EMS Director Paul Dutcher, Ochiltree County Sheriff Terry Bouchard, and other state and local officials.
Governor Abbott began the news conference saying, “I’ve never seen a level of decimation to a town as I’ve seen today,” as he described walking through Perryton earlier today with the mayor.
Gov. Abbott said, “What the people in this area have gone through in the last couple of days is nothing short of horrific.”
He also said that it was “encouraging and inspiring to see how the community has worked together to begin the process of rebuilding.”
However, he emphasized “There is the ability to rebuild homes, rebuild buildings, rebuild city structures. The one thing that cannot be rebuilt is a life. Unfortunately, this exact same storm took three lives that cannot be rebuilt.”
Governor Abbott thanked the first responders, local officials and health care workers who immediately responded to the disaster and began working around the clock.
He said the hospital treated 160 patients with only 25 beds. He also recognized the over 30 departments who responded from throughout Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas to assist with recovery efforts.
During the news conference, Gov. Abbott signed the Disaster Declaration for Ochiltree and Cass counties, summoning all the powers and assistance the state can provide to these counties to accelerate the rebuilding process.
Perryton Mayor Kerry Symons spoke on the local efforts for recovery, saying “We are tough, and as the Governor said, we are resilient, and we will overcome this, and we will be stronger and stronger than ever.”
Senator Ted Cruz spoke on walking down the Main Street of Perryton, with buildings over 100 years old damaged from the storm.
He spoke on walking through the trailer park where nearly every trailer was destroyed.
“Every time there’s grief and suffering, and loss of life and tremendous damage, at the same time it is consistently inspiring to see how Texans respond to hardship,” said Senator Cruz.
He continued saying, “At a time of tragedy, Texans stand unified. The entire state of Texas stands with you.”
When addressing the state’s disaster response, TDEM Chief Nim Kidd said the state resources are not leaving. He said their teams will stay in Perryton to help support the families as the town rebuilds.
Chief Kidd reminded residents another round of severe storms is expected Saturday evening.
When asked about the warning sirens during the evening of the tornado, Perryton officials confirmed the power went out as officials went to sound the sirens. The warning sirens then did not alert as the tornado tore through town.
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Source: KFDA
