President Barack Obama says he will travel to Missouri on Sunday to meet with people affected by the devastating tornadoes there.
The president said Tuesday he wants Midwesterners whose lives were upended by the deadly storms last weekend to know that the federal government will use all the resources at its disposal to help them recover and rebuild. He also phoned Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon again Tuesday to get an update on the destruction in the state, the White House said.
More than 100 people were killed in the Missouri town of Joplin when a monster twister hit Sunday. A hospital and countless homes and businesses were destroyed, and more storms, possibly strong ones, are on the horizon.
"I want everybody in Joplin, everybody in Missouri, everybody in Minnesota, everybody across the Midwest to know that we are here for you," the president said in London, the second stop on his four-country, six-day tour of Europe.
"The American people are by your side. We're going to stay there until every home is repaired, until every neighborhood is rebuilt, until every business is back on its feet."
Obama is due back in Washington Saturday night.