President Obama has issued a national disaster declaration order for a portion of Nebraska. The president’s order covers towns that were hit by tornadoes, strong winds, and flooding between May 11 and May 12, 2014.

President Obama announced in a statement that Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator W. Craig Fugate has named Christian Mark Van Alstyne as the head Federal Coordinating Officer to oversee the recovery in the selected areas.

FEMA announced that more national declarations could be made per the state of Nebraska’s request and the agency’s evaluation of other resulting damages.

President Obama's announcement came a day after two tornadoes touched down in Nebraska.

Reuters reported that one person, a 5-year-old child, died at a local hospital. Reuters also noted that the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, stated that it is “rare” for tornadoes to touchdown at the same time.

The Storm Prediction Center cited one other case in which this has occurred. Rich Thompson, the Storm Prediction Center’s head forecaster, told Reuters that the two tornadoes where either an EF-2 or EF-3 class, and that the winds could reach a maximum speed of 165 mph.