Biden approves disaster declaration following deadly Oklahoma storms

President Biden approved Monday a disaster declaration for Oklahoma after tornadoes ripped through parts of the state and killed at least three people. The president's action makes federal funding available for recovery efforts in the affected areas.

The storms that moved through the central U.S. late last week left at least three people dead and damaged dozens of homes, leaving thousands of customers without power. At least eight tornadoes were reported in Oklahoma.

The federal disaster declaration from Biden will offer federal aid to supplement recovery efforts for state, tribal and local recovery efforts. The federal aid from the Biden administration includes support for grants for temporary housing and home repairs and low-cost loans for uninsured property losses. It is also available on a cost-sharing basis for organizations to help in emergency work in McClain and Pottawatomie counties, two of the hardest-hit areas of the state.

Cole, a town in McClain County, was the site of at least two of the deaths from the tornado. 

“There are definitely dozens of various injuries, from minor all the way up to fatalities,” said Deputy Sheriff Scott Gibbons of McClain County, the county where Cole is located.

The Biden administration has appointed Adam Burpee, an emergency manager at the Federal Emergency Management Administration, to coordinate the federal recovery efforts in the areas.

The offering of federal assistance for the severe weather in Oklahoma comes less than a month after the Biden administration also declared a federal disaster for storms in Mississippi that killed at least 32 people.