Obama brings a healing touch to devastated town Sharing the pain: Barack Obama stands with survivors and first responders as he speaks to reporters amidst the rubble of the tornado-destroyed Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Oklahoma on Sunday. Photo: Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Moore, Oklahoma: President Barack Obama walked among three-metre piles of tornado debris littered with children's schoolbooks Sunday as he offered the condolences of a nation to a town nearly wiped off the map by a storm. Standing next to the rubble that was once the Plaza Towers Elementary School, and the place where seven children lost their lives when the tornado touched down a week ago, the president declared his confidence that Moore would rebuild and recover and pledged the support of his government, and the nation, toward that goal. "This is a strong community with strong character," Mr Obama said with a grim face. "This is a strong community with strong character," Mr Obama said with a grim face, as he stood with Mary Fallin, the Republican governor of Oklahoma, and other local officials. There's no doubt they will bounce back. But they need help. A president who is often locked in a struggle with Republicans over their disdain for expansive federal agencies, Mr Obama has repeatedly found himself pledging the full power of the government to confront natural disasters. On Tuesday, the president will return to the New Jersey coast to witness the rebuilding after Hurricane Sandy. In Oklahoma, Mr Obama took a brief walk through the remains of what once was a thriving suburb south of Oklahoma City. Planted in several piles of debris were American flags, flapping in the stiff winds of the warm spring day. But the piles also contained reminders of the lives torn apart by winds that topped 320 km/h as the twister cut a 32-kilometre path of destruction through town. There were 2012 yearbooks from the Plaza Towers school and one workbook titled "Jamal's Surprise." There were several waterlogged encyclopaedias and a pink baby doll stroller. In another pile was a purple plastic toy camcorder and a pink child's parka. Every few feet, crumpled cars blocked the way and twisted metal littered yards that once had lawns. The only trees remaining had no bark and no leaves. Mr Obama was the consoler-in-chief, with the television cameras rolling. He promised Moore residents that his administration would stay with them - as it has, he said, in all of the other communities - as Oklahomans rebuilt. More than 450 federal employees remain in Oklahoma almost a week after the tornado ripped through Moore. Officials said about 4200 people had registered for a total of $3.4 million in immediate and direct aid made available by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The New York Times News