With flipped cars and the rubble of what before Saturday’s tornado was Lant’s Feed Store and Bridal Shop serving as backdrop, Gov. Matt Blunt addressed local and national media Monday afternoon on the most recent disaster to pound Newton County.

Just beforehand, the governor had viewed the damage by air from a helicopter. He said it was “some of the worst I’ve seen”, particularly taking note of the extensive tree damage and destroyed farms.

“It breaks your heart,” Blunt said. “It breaks your heart to see this sort of damage and envision what this was like for a family who lost their loved one and even all their household belongings. There’s a dollar figure associated with those belongings, but there’s also an emotional attachment to things in our homes. It really does break your heart to fly over and see that damage or walk around and look at what has occurred here.”

Blunt promised that the state would do “all that it can” to help individual families impacted by the deadly storm that killed at least 14 people in Newton County by latest reports and flattened what could turn out to be hundreds of homes — severely bypassing early counts. 

He said state assistance would mainly include working closely with local and federal authorities in coordinating the recovery efforts.

Blunt indicated he had spoken with President Bush on Sunday, who assured him there would be federal dollars available to assist Southwest Missouri.

Blunt said agents with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) would be on hand Monday and today to make assessments of the destruction in Newton County.

As of yet, there is no pinned down monetary estimate on the amount of damage that occurred to homes, businesses and property, but Blunt said it would number in the millions.

“More important than what the state will do (to help) will be what our churches and groups like the Salvation Army and Red Cross will do to help their fellow Missourians,” Blunt stated. “But we will be there to provide assistance and we’ll try to be a good coordinator between the federal government which will provide tremendous resources as people work to rebuilt their lives and their local communities.”

He pointed out that Saturday’s disaster was “unique” in that there was very little warning for rural residents in the county to take cover. Fielding a question on what can be done to ensure people get the proper warning, Blunt said they should simply pay attention to the weather reports, via radio or television.

Most of the deceased were motorists who crossed paths with the twister as it plowed across the county.

Superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Col. James Keathley, who was present with the governor Monday, gave a reminder for drivers to stay away from areas under tornado warning in the first place.

“If you do get in (those areas), don’t try to outrun a tornado,” Keathley said. “The best thing to do is get out of your vehicle and get in a low-lying area, such as a ditch, or maybe seek assistance from a resident who has a basement. But the main thing is to simply get as low as you can.”


NOTEBOOK

Governor Matt Blunt confirmed that federal Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff could visit the tornado-damaged areas today. Officials will be at Missouri Highway 43 and BB beginning at 1:40. A story on the event will be in Friday’s Daily News.