President Barack Obama spoke for about 10 minutes at the Red Cross in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, emphasizing to the public that Superstorm Sandy is not yet over.
Dozens of Red Cross staffers stood up at their cubicles and clapped as the president walked into their workspace, shaking their hands as he made his way to a podium. He stood next to two Red Cross officials as he spoke: Charley Shimanski, Senior Vice President of Disaster Services, and Marc DeCourcey, chief of staff to the CEO.
Mr. Obama began by thanking them for their “outstanding work” and for being “on the scene” every time America is faced with a disaster.
Then, he pivoted to the situation on the ground with Sandy.
“I want to emphasize to the public at the top: This storm is not yet over,” he said.
Sandy is still moving north and more communities could be hurt by high winds and downed power lines, he said. “It’s very important for the public to … listen to your state and local officials. Follow instructions. The more you follow instructions, the easier it is for our first responders.”
Mr. Obama said there has been “extraordinary hardship” on people over the last 24 hours. “My thoughts and prayers are with all the families who lost loved ones,” he said. “It’s not clear that we have counted up all of the fatalities at this point. Obviously this is something that is heartbreaking for the entire nation.”
Over the next several days, weeks and even months, the president said his most important message to people is that, “America is with you. We are standing behind you, and we are going to do everything we can to help you get back on your feet.”
Mr. Obama said he spoke to governors and mayors in affected states earlier Tuesday, specifically naming New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. “I want to praise them for the extraordinary work that they have done,” he said. “Sadly, we are getting more experience with these kinds of big-impact storms along the East Coast. And the preparation shows.”
The president also hailed the “outstanding” coordination between state, local and federal governments.
Moving into the recovery phase, Obama said New Jersey and New York have been “pounded” by Sandy, but because of their preparations ahead of the storm, more than 1,000 FEMA officials were in place with supplies, food, medicine and emergency generators.
Most recovery efforts going forward will be coordinated at the local level, but in the meantime, Obama said he has instructed federal agencies, “Do not figure out why we can’t do something. I want you to figure out how we do something. I want you to cut through red tape; I want you to cut through the bureaucracy. There is no excuse for inaction at this point. I want every agency moving forward to make sure we are getting the resources where they are needed as quickly as possible.”
He repeated that bit again.
Mr. Obama said he is also looking into ways that resources can be brought in where they may not traditionally be pulled from. He gave the example of using military equipment to help pump water out of New York City’s subway systems.
“I told the mayors and governors if they’re getting no for an answer somewhere in the federal government, they can call me personally at the White House,” he said.
As for what the rest of the public can do, the president said people should “be out there looking out for their neighbors” in cases where, for example, older people may have no power. Secondly, the Red Cross “knows what it’s doing” when it comes to emergency responses and — hint hint — now is the time to “show the kind of generosity that makes America the greatest nation on Earth.”
Mr. Obama wrapped up by saying that even “during the darkness of the storm,” people also saw “the brightest in America.” He described images from Monday night of nurses at NYU Hospital “carrying newborns to safety” after the hospital lost power, and firefighters in Queens “waist-deep in water” rescuing people. He said one of his favorite stories was when the Coast Guard in North Carolina sent a rescue swimmer to a sinking ship and the swimmer greeted the ship by saying, “Hi. I’m Dan. I understand you guys need a ride.”
“That kind of spirit of resilience and strength, but most importantly looking out for one another — that’s why we always bounce back from these kinds of disasters,” Obama said. “This is a tough time for a lot of people…. But America’s tough. And we’re tougher because we pull together and we leave nobody behind. We make sure we respond as a nation.”
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