Governor Mary Fallin Tours Tulsa Storm Damage

Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin Friday toured storm damage in several Tulsa neighborhoods.

People recovering from the storm say they are thankful for the quick clean-up efforts and the attention from state officials. The governor spoke during the tour about what the state is doing to make sure those efforts continue in Green Country.

Governor Fallin surprised one Tulsa family cleaning up from a storm that packed more than 70 mph winds. A tree came crashing down on their home.

"This is a bookshelf? It actually went into the floor," Fallin said, upon seeing what the storm caused.

It was one of several stops the governor made while she was touring the damage.

"I think it was probably the worst storm, not as bad as the ice storm, but the worst storm since the ice storm," said Ethen Herrington.

He and his aunt live down the street from where part of the roof came off the OSU Center for Health Sciences Building. Their neighborhood saw a lot of tree damage, too.

7/24/2013 Related Story: Storm Damages OSU Center For Health Sciences Building In Tulsa

"There's massive damages in this neighborhood. There's a tree that fell on a house down here," said Cindy Forkner.

Governor Fallin said she's happy to see progress is being made here in Green Country.

"We're recovering. It's going to take us a while to get some of the debris cleaned up, certainly, we're doing a tremendous job getting the power back on very, very quickly," Fallin said.

The governor applauded efforts by state and local officials to get resources in to start the clean up effort.

"I just want to ask Oklahomans to be careful. As much as you can, stay out of the way," Fallin said.

Herrington said, "I think it's pretty cool that she came down here and came to see one of the areas that got hit pretty hard."

Governor Fallin said she doesn't know if this area will be eligible for any federal funding from FEMA.

The disaster declaration does allow for immediate resources like oversize trucks to enter the state and begin the clean-up.