The death toll from two storm systems - one in the Upper Midwest and the remnants of Tropical Storm Erin in Texas and Oklahoma - reached 22 on Tuesday when searchers found the body of a man tangled in a tree near Lewiston, Minn.

In Wisconsin and Minnesota, thousands of homes were damaged: A preliminary survey by the American Red Cross in Minnesota identified about 4,200 affected homes, including 256 complete losses, 338 with major damage and 475 that are still inaccessible, said Kris Eide, the state's director of homeland security and emergency management.

President Bush said the government would move quickly to process requests for help from Minnesota so that residents could count on a "flood of help" to come down. He spoke before heading to a Republican fundraiser in the state.

 Source : AP News