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Dozens killed in Moore, Oklahoma tornado | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
At least 51 people have been killed after a huge tornado tore through the Oklahoma City suburbs, with the death toll likely to rise, the Oklahoma chief medical examiner's office has said. | |
About 120 people, including 70 children, are being treated for injuries in hospitals around Moore. | |
The tornado sparked fires, flattened neighbourhoods, and destroyed schools on Monday afternoon. | |
Search and rescue efforts will continue throughout the night, officials said. | |
Monday's twister hit Moore, a suburb of about 55,000 people in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area and remained on the ground for about 45 minutes. | |
At least two schools took a "direct hit", and local news station KFOR reported 20 to 30 children were still unaccounted for. | |
'Coming apart' | 'Coming apart' |
Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin said it was a "tragic" day and "hearts are broken" for parents looking for their children. | |
Emergency workers including 80 National Guardsmen and out-of-state personnel were called in to assist the search and rescue effort and emergency declarations for the affected counties had been issued, she said. | |
Governor Fallin added that President Barack Obama called to offer assistance and asked her to contact him directly if she needed additional help. | |
Emergency crews were searching into the night for survivors in the ruins of homes that had been levelled to their foundations. | |
"Our neighbourhood is covered in debris," said witness Melissa Newton. | |
"There's shingles and pieces of sheet rock and wood in our yard and all across our neighbourhood. Some homes are completely gone. It's devastating." | |
And James Rushing said the Plaza Towers Elementary School, where his foster son Aiden was a pupil, was destroyed by the storm. | |
"About two minutes after I got there, the school started coming apart," he told the Associated Press. | "About two minutes after I got there, the school started coming apart," he told the Associated Press. |
Hospitals in the area said as many as 120 people were injured, including about 70 children, the Associated Press news agency reported. | |
The National Weather Service (NWS) said Monday's tornado generated winds of up to 200mph (321km/h). | The National Weather Service (NWS) said Monday's tornado generated winds of up to 200mph (321km/h). |
"It's certainly the most powerful tornado that I've ever dealt with in my 20 years with the weather service," NWS meteorologist Rick Smith in Norman, Oklahoma, told the BBC. | "It's certainly the most powerful tornado that I've ever dealt with in my 20 years with the weather service," NWS meteorologist Rick Smith in Norman, Oklahoma, told the BBC. |
The town of Moore was hit by a severe tornado in May 1999, which had the highest winds ever recorded on Earth. | |
But Betsy Randolph of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol told local news station Skynews 9 that the damage on Monday appeared to exceed that of the last devastating tornado. | But Betsy Randolph of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol told local news station Skynews 9 that the damage on Monday appeared to exceed that of the last devastating tornado. |
Tornadoes, hail and high winds also hit Iowa and Kansas, part of a storm system stretching from Texas to Minnesota. | Tornadoes, hail and high winds also hit Iowa and Kansas, part of a storm system stretching from Texas to Minnesota. |
On Sunday, a tornado smashed a trailer park on Highway 102 near Shawnee, Oklahoma. Oklahoma's state medical examiner confirmed on Monday that two people had been killed in the area. | On Sunday, a tornado smashed a trailer park on Highway 102 near Shawnee, Oklahoma. Oklahoma's state medical examiner confirmed on Monday that two people had been killed in the area. |
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