US President Barack Obama has seen for himself the devastation caused by the tornado that killed 24 people and damaged about 12,000 homes in Oklahoma.

President Barack Obama had a first-hand look at the recovery efforts from the monstrous storm that hit areas including Moore and Oklahoma City and completely destroyed 1,200 properties.

He offered moral and monetary support to people still reeling from lost lives and shattered neighbourhoods.

He told survivors that the rebuilding job will be enormous and “we’re going to be with you all the way”.

Mr Obama met affected families and thanked emergency services in Moore, a town of 41,000 residents about 10 miles from Oklahoma City.

Standing with the state’s governor, Mary Fallin, and other officials amid the devastation, President Obama said: “A picture’s worth a thousand words.”

He told residents: “It is going to take a long time for the Moore community to rebuild.”

But he added: “Moore is going to come back stronger. We are going to be with you every step of the way”, saying the town had already been printing new street signs.

He also appealed for the American people to donate to the Red Cross to help tornado victims.

Among the dead were 10 children, including seven students at Plaza Towers Elementary School and two sisters pulled by the strong winds out of their mother’s grasp.

An infant died along with his mother trying to ride out the storm in a convenience store.

Mr Obama’s first stop was the demolished site of the school, where the tornado turned the one-storey building into a heap of bricks, broken concrete and twisted metal.

He walked along Eagle Drive, with the demolished school on his left, and on his right, homes reduced as far as the eye could see to piles of rubble.

Vehicles were turned upside down and toys and children’s books were strewn with furniture and ripped out wall insulation.

“I know this is tough,” he told one school official.

He met the Lewis family, who lost their home behind the school, telling them the important thing is they survived and could replace their things.

“What a mess,” he told their son Zack, a third grader at the shattered school.

Zack’s father, Scott, ran into the school just before the storm hit and ran with his terrified son back to their home’s storm shelter.

“You’ve got some story to tell,” Mr Obama told the boy. “This is something you’ll remember all your life.”

The tornado was one of the most powerful in years, affecting an estimated 33,000 people, according to officials.

Initial estimates put the cost of the storm at around $2bn (£1.3bn).

The twister was known as an EF5, the highest on a scale used to measure tornado strength.

Before Mr Obama’s trip, Ms Fallin said her message to him was that she appreciated the visit, but the state also needed quick action from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The Republican governor said so far the agency has done a great job of speeding relief and cash assistance to affected families, but she was concerned about the long-term.

“There’s going to come a time when there’s going to be a tremendous amount of need once we begin the debris clearing, which we already have, but really get it cleared off to where we need to start rebuilding these homes, rebuilding these businesses,” she told CBS.

”And we know at different times in the past, money hasn’t come always as quickly as it should.”

The White House said that 450 FEMA personnel were working on the ground in Oklahoma and have delivered 43,000 meals, 150,000 litres of water and thousands of cots and blankets.

It said 4,200 people have applied for disaster assistance, and $3.4m (£2.2m) in payments have been approved.

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