THE PRESIDENT has been following closely the reports from Rapid City, and is deeply distressed at the loss of life and the widespread destruction. He has directed General Lincoln, the Director of the Office of Emergency Preparedness, to keep personally in touch with the situation and to ensure that all appropriate help is given. The President feels that the hearts of Americans everywhere will go out to the families of those who have been lost, to those who have been left homeless, and to the many others who have suffered from this sudden and terrible disaster.
Note: Press Secretary Ronald L. Ziegler made the statement available to the press on June 10, 1972.
On the same day, the White House released an announcement of disaster declaration and Federal assistance for South Dakota following heavy rains and flooding. The announcement is printed in the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents (vol. 8, p. 1007).
On June 12, Robert H. Finch, Counsellor to the President, visited Rapid City to confer with the mayor on disaster assistance following the floods. The White House also announced a series of activities of Federal and private agencies engaged in assistance efforts.
On June 18, Mrs. Nixon attended memorial services for flood victims in Rapid City.
Richard Nixon, White House Statement About Floods in Rapid City, South Dakota. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/254922