ATLANTIC CITY, NJ – OCTOBER 30: People stand on a mound of construction dirt to view the area where a 2,000-foot section of the “uptown” boardwalk was destroyed by flooding from Hurricane Sandy on October 30, 2012 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The storm has claimed at least 33 lives in the United States, and has caused massive flooding across much of the Atlantic seaboard. US President Barack Obama has declared the situation a ‘major disaster’ for large areas of the US East Coast including New York City. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama will travel to storm-stricken New Jersey on Wednesday to view damage from the massive storm that struck the East Coast and to thank first responders.

The White House says Obama will join New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in viewing the damage. Christie is a Republican who has been an Obama critic. But on Tuesday he praised Obama’s leadership in dealing with the storm disaster.

Obama said Tuesday at Red Cross headquarters that the storm “is not yet over.” He said there are still risks of flooding and downed power lines and called the storm “heartbreaking for the nation.”

The president offered his thoughts and prayers to those affected and said “America is with you.” He said he told government officials coordinating the response that there was “no excuse for inaction.”

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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