At least 89 people have died in Joplin, Missouri and the toll is expected to climb, after a large tornado roared through the small Midwestern city yesterday afternoon, officials said today.
Rescue crews from throughout the region were deployed to the town of about 50,000 people to help dig through the rubble, and aid those left injured and homeless.
"We are recovering the dead," Joplin police Sgt Bob Higginbotham said.
More than 500 people were confirmed injured, many with serious internal injuries, officials said. The number of dead and injured was expected to climb as rescue workers dig through collapsed homes and businesses.
A number of bodies were found along the city's "restaurant row," on the main commercial street and a local nursing home took a direct hit, Newton County Coroner Mark Bridges said.
At St Johns Hospital in Joplin, 180 patients cowered as the fierce winds blew out windows and pulled off the roof. Others took refuge in restaurant coolers, huddled in closets, or just ran for their lives.
An estimated 20,000 homes and businesses were without power today.
"It is a significant tragedy," said Missouri Governor Jay Nixon. "We're working on all cylinders. We've got to get an active and complete search ... to make sure if there is anyone still alive in the rubble that we get them out."
The city's residents were given about 20 minutes notice when 25 warning sirens sounded throughout the southwest Missouri town around 6 p.m. CDT, said Jasper County emergency management director Keith Stammers.
But the governor said many people likely were unable to get to shelter in time. "The bottom line was the storm was so loud you probably couldn't hear the sirens going off." He declared a state of emergency and called out the Missouri National Guard to help.
President Barack Obama, who is visiting Ireland today, called Mr Nixon to offer his condolences to those affected by the deadly tornadoes that ripped through the city of Joplin and to offer federal assistance.
"The president assured the governor that FEMA will remain in close contact and coordination with state and local officials," said Nick Shapiro, a White House spokesman, referring to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Mr Obama called Nixon from Dublin and he directed FEMA administrator Craig Fugate to go to Missouri to make sure the state's getting full federal support, Mr Shapiro said.
On Saturday night, a tornado ripped through Reading, Kansas, killing one and damaging 200 homes and businesses. Another person was killed in a tornado in Minneapolis yesterday.
The storms that hit Joplin continued a path of destruction eastward through the Ohio Valley region, bringing golf ball-sized hail and 50 mile-per-hour winds to Tennessee, knocking down trees and power lines and stripping roofs from building.
Reuters