Obama pledges all necessary help for tornado-hit Oklahoma

                
Officials in Oklahoma City said on Tuesday that 24 bodies were recovered after a devastating tornado tore through Moore, Oklahoma, a sharp decline from the 51 deaths they previously reported.
   
"We have got good news. The number right now is 24," said Amy Elliott, chief administrative officer at the Oklahoma City Medical Examiner's Office.

The prior figure of 51 dead may have included some double-reported casualties, Elliott said.
   
"There was a lot of chaos," Elliott said.
   
She cautioned that additional bodies could yet be recovered from the rubble.
   
All but three of the bodies that have been recovered have been identified and are being returned to their families, Elliott said.

On another note, President Barack Obama promised to make available all necessary U.S. government resources to Oklahoma to help in the rescue and recovery effort in the aftermath of a devastating tornado.

"The people of Moore (Oklahoma) should know that their country will remain on the ground, beside them, for as long as it takes," Obama said at the White House.
   
This comes as he declared a major disaster in Oklahoma as the state recovers from a massive tornado that ripped through the Oklahoma City suburbs Monday, killing dozens and flattening entire neighborhoods.
                     
Obama has ordered federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts.

Individuals and business owners affected by the disaster may apply for federal grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs.                       

The president promised federal assistance in a phone conversation earlier Monday with Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has sent a special team to Oklahoma's emergency operations center to help out and dispatch resources.


AP/REUTERS/LBCI