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Moore Oklahoma (CNN) Amid downed power lines hissing gas pipes and immense devastation rescuers searched board by board Tuesday for survivors and victims of a massive tornado that pulverized a vast swath of the Oklahoma City suburbs.
It was a daunting task. The Monday afternoon storm carved a trail through the area as much as two miles wide and 17 miles long officials said. Hardest hit was Moore Oklahoma a suburban town of about 56 000 and the site of eerily similar twisters in 1999 and again four years later.
At a Tuesday afternoon news conference Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin said the storm was one of the most horrific storms and disasters that this state has ever faced.
Map Moore Oklahoma Map Moore Oklahoma Rescuers search through rubble in Shawnee Oklahoma on Monday May 20. A tornado outbreak hit in the Midwest and Plains on Sunday and Monday the deadliest hitting Moore Oklahoma on Monday. Massive piles of debris cover the ground after a powerful tornado ripped through Moore Oklahoma on May 20. View photos related to the Moore tornado. A deadly tornado destroys cars and demolishes structures in the town of Moore near Oklahoma City on Monday May 20. A volunteer helps clean up a mobile home on May 20 after it was overturned on a day earlier near Shawnee Oklahoma. Jean McAdams' mobile home near Shawnee Oklahoma lies overturned on May 20. President Barack Obama talks on the phone with Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin from the Oval Office on May 20. The president expressed his concern for those who have been affected by the severe weather. Tom and Ronda Clark get help with cleanup on May 20 after their property near Shawnee was damaged by a tornado on May 19. Lonnie Langston says his garage was swept off the concrete pad next to his house by a tornado near Shawnee. Shawnee residents embrace on May 20 as they search through the remains of their home. A home in Shawnee sits in ruin after being hit by a tornado on Sunday May 19. A twister stretches toward the ground near South Haven Kansas on May 19. Residents repair the roof of a neighbor's damaged house after a tree fell on it in Shawnee on May 19. A woman waits to be allowed back to her home after a tornado swept through Shawnee on May 19. Storm chaser and videographer Brad Mack records a tornado touchdown in South Haven Kansas on May 19. A tractor trailer lies on its side on Interstate 40 while another is broken open on the road below after falling from the overpass after a tornado strike near Highway 177 north of Shawnee on May 19. A tornado touches down near Wichita Kansas on Sunday May 19. Debris from a mobile home park west of Shawnee litters the ground on May 19. An estimated 300 homes were damaged or destroyed across Oklahoma Red Cross spokesman Ken Garcia said. Lightning strikes in Clearwater Kansas on May 19. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Photos Tornadoes strike Midwest Rescuers scour tornado debris field Tearful reunions at elementary schoolAll that remained in some places she said were sticks and bricks.
The state medical examiner's office said 24 people were confirmed dead including nine children.
Earlier reports of at least 51 deaths were erroneous said Amy Elliot chief administrative officer for the Oklahoma Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
But Fallin said the death toll could still rise. She said some bodies may have been taken to funeral homes without the government's knowledge.
More than 230 people were injured.
At least 100 people have been pulled alive from the rubble by rescuers.
Terri Watkins the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman who described Tuesday's search as board by board said it was far too soon to account for the devastation of the storm.
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This is a massive tornado and it's a large area that has been struck she said.
The scene block after block of flattened homes and businesses the gutted remains of a hospital and hits on two elementary schools left even seasoned veterans of Oklahoma's infamous tornadoes reeling.
The devastation was so complete Moore Mayor Glenn Lewis said city officials were racing to print new street signs to help guide rescuers and residents through a suddenly twisted and unfamiliar landscape.
Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb likened the destruction to a two mile wide lawnmower blade going over a community.
Police firefighters volunteers and nearly 180 National Guard troops joined forces Tuesday in searching the rubble and securing areas hit by the storm. Texas sent an elite 80 member urban search team as well and the American Red Cross sent 25 emergency response vehicles.
The weather wasn't cooperating with their efforts National Weather Service crews surveying the damage in Moore reported rain half inch hail and 45 mph winds over the debris field.
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol asked motorists to steer clear of Interstate 35 near Moore to free up lanes for disaster response resources streaming into the area.
And so many people were showing up to volunteer that authorities had to plead with would be rescuers to stay away.
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Path of devastation
The storm struck near Newcastle Oklahoma at 2 56 p.m. Monday 16 minutes after the first warnings went out according to the National Weather Service.
Moore residents had another 30 to 40 minutes before the massive storm entered the western part of the city CNN meteorologist Sean Morris said.
As Fallin had said Monday night Lamb said he believed residents had time to prepare for the storm.
My understanding is that the warning system was good. It was adequate he said.
Among the many buildings struck by the storm were two schools Plaza Towers and Briarwood elementaries.
About 75 students and staff members were hunkered down in Plaza Towers when the tornado struck CNN affiliate KFOR reported.
The path of the storm
At one point an estimated 24 children were missing from the school but some later turned up at nearby churches.
On Monday a father of a third grader still missing sat quietly on a stool outside. Tears cascaded from his face as he waited for any news.
Even parents of survivors couldn't wrap their minds around the tragedy.
I'm speechless. How did this happen Why did this happen Norma Bautista asked. How do we explain this to the kids ... In an instant everything's gone.
Across town Moore Medical Center took a direct hit.
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Our hospital has been devastated said Lewis the Moore mayor. We had a two story hospital now we have a one. And it's not occupiable.
So 145 of the injured were rushed to three other area hospitals.
That number includes 45 children taken to the children's hospital at Oklahoma University Medical Center Dr. Roxie Albrecht said. Injuries ranged from minor to severe including impalement and crushing injuries.
The morning after Devastation in Moore
'Cars crumpled up like little toys'
The National Weather Service pegged the tornado's winds at about 190 mph placing it at the upper end of the EF4 category the second most powerful category of storm.
But Rick Smith a meteorologist for the weather service told reporters Tuesday that number could go higher.
Weather service assessment crews were just making their way into the most heavily devastated areas Tuesday afternoon he said.
We've seen numerous structures that are wiped clean to the foundation. Smith said.
State Highway Patrol Trooper Betsy Randolph told CNN affiliate KOKI that it was mass devastation.
I'm talking everywhere you looked the debris field was so high and so far and so wide wounded people walking around the streets she said. They were bloody there were people that had stuff sticking out of them from things that were flying around in the air. There were cars crumpled up like little toys and thrown on top of buildings. Buildings that were two and three stories tall that were leveled.
Storm chaser Lauren Hill was part of a team that recorded video of the massive tornado as it ripped through town.
You could actually feel the vibration from the tornado itself as it was approaching she said.
We still have a bit of PTSD she said. It's devastating.
Bracing for more tornadoes
Still digging
After the ear shattering howl subsided survivors along the miles of destruction emerged from shelters to see an apocalyptic vision. Homes and other buildings were shredded to pieces. Remnants of mangled cars were piled on top of each other. What used to be a parking lot now looked like a junkyard.
People are wandering around like zombies KFOR reporter Scott Hines said. It's like they're not realizing how to process what had just happened.
James Dickens is not a firefighter or medic. He's actually a gas and oil pipeline worker. But that didn't stop him from grabbing a hard hat and joining other rescuers at Plaza Towers Elementary School.
I felt it was my duty to come help he said Tuesday after a long night of searching.
As a father it's humbling. It's heartbreaking to know that we've still got kids over there that's possibly alive but we don't know.
Hiding in freezers
Hines said rescuers found a 7 month old baby and its mother hiding in a giant freezer. But they didn't survive.
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At the devastated hospital in Moore some doctors had to jump into a freezer to survive Lamb said.
Lando Hite shirtless and spattered in mud described how the storm pummeled the Orr Family Farm in Moore which had about 80 horses before the storm hit.
It was just like the movie 'Twister ' Hite told KFOR. There were horses and stuff flying around everywhere.
Moore and the Oklahoma City region are far too familiar with disaster. In 1995 168 people died in the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.
In 1999 and then again in 2003 Moore took direct hits from tornadoes that took eerily similar paths to Monday's storm. The 1999 storm packed the strongest wind speeds in history Lamb said.
We're a tough state. This is a tough community Lamb said. There is hope. We always have hope. We always have faith.
President Barack Obama pledging whatever federal aid Oklahoma would need praised teachers who protected their students.
If there is hope to hold on to not just in Oklahoma but around the country it's the knowledge that the good people there and in Oklahoma are better prepared for this type of storm than most he said. And what they can be certain of is that Americans from every corner of this country will be right there with them opening our homes our hearts to those in need because we're a nation that stands with our fellow citizens as long as it takes.
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More trouble brewing
The storm system that spawned Monday's tornado and several other twisters Sunday isn't over yet.
Southwest Arkansas and northeast Texas including Dallas are under the gun for severe weather Tuesday. Those areas could see large hail damaging winds and tornadoes.
A broader swath of the United States from Texas to Indiana and up to Michigan could see severe thunderstorms.
We could have a round 3 CNN meteorologist Ivan Cabrera said. Hopefully it won't be as bad.
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CNN's Michael Pearson and Holly Yan wrote and reported from Atlanta and Gary Tuchman reported from Moore. CNN's George Howell Dana Ford Nick Valencia AnneClaire Stapleton Phil Gast Ed Payne Joe Sutton and Miriam Falco contributed to this report.
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