BREAKING: Huge Tornado Tears Through S. OK City ("2 Miles-Wide," "MASSIVE CATASTROPHIC DAMAGE")

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Last edited Mon May 20, 2013, 09:20 PM - Edit history (24)

Source: CBS News / CNN



A woman carries her child through a field near the collapsed Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Okla., Monday, May 20, 2013. (AP Photo Sue Ogrocki)

Massive tornado slams Oklahoma City area

By Nick Valencia. Catherine E. Shoichet and Dana Ford, CNN

Shawnee, Oklahoma (CNN) - A powerful tornado blasted an area outside of Oklahoma City on Monday, ripping roofs off buildings, leveling homes and leaving a massive band of destruction in its wake.

In the desperate seconds and minutes after the storm passed, the human toll was not yet clear.

Survivors emerged from shelters to see an apocalyptic vision -- the remnants of cars twisted and piled on each other to make what had been a parking lot look like a junk yard. Bright orange flames roaring from a structure that was blazing even as rain continued to fall.

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"Our worst fears are becoming realized this afternoon," Bill Bunting, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Storm Prediction Center, told CNN soon after the tornado struck.

@CBSNews: MT @NEWS9 UPDATE: Large tornado just crossed Western on 19th street Moore, OK. If you are in this area you need to take your precautions now

@CBSNews: RT @DavidBernardTV: #Tornado coming into #Moore. Cars on highway. Terrifying. @CBSNews http://t.co/sPWTCosJdI

@BreakingNews: National Weather Service issues tornado emergency for Moore, south Oklahoma City - @TWCBreaking http://t.co/qh4Q22EaSM

@CBSNews: LIVE BREAKING NEWS VIDEO: Live aerials of very large tornado passing near Oklahoma City http://t.co/tuG23cIC7w (via @NEWS9)

CNN: Schools completely leveled.

@CBSNews: MT @KHOULily This is a school where kids were trapped when tornado hit OKC. There are no words. http://t.co/VuLkVPBIvj (via @NEWS9)

@BuzzFeedAndrew: Farmer being interviewed on KFOR: "There's maybe 75-100 dead horses."

@adolwyn: Multiple reports of cars crushed on I-35 with people trapped in them from scanners. I-35 is closed both directions. #okwx.

KFOR: "Absolute chaos." Witness: "Third-graders being pulled out now."

@911BUFF: BREAKING NEWS OUT OF OKLAHOMA: 2 SCHOOLS COMPLETELY DESTROYED IN MOORE, OK. 3RD GRADERS BEING PULLED OUT OF PLAZA TOWER SCHOOL RIGHT NOW

@CBSNews: RT @CharlieKayeCBS: BREAKING. CBS-TV Affiliate KWTV reports multiple fatalities in the Moore, Oklahoma area from today's tornado.

@GeminiTiger86: The middle of a leveled neighborhood. Trapped people are calling for help https://t.co/rsK3YcwewZ

@samsteinhp: Photos from the destruction in Oklahoma http://t.co/mWkq4bcHx4

@JoshElliottABC: Spokesperson at OU Medical Center, which has received 7 patients but expects more, said in describing injuries: "You can probably imagine."

@McClatchyDC: Photos, video of tornado damage in Oklahoma as search continues for missing elementary students: http://t.co/mEDnrBPd0p

@AP: AP PHOTO: A woman carries her child near collapsed Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Okla. http://t.co/ss3FRFrhv8 -RJJ

@AP: Rescue workers lift children from rubble of elementary school in Moore, Okla.: http://t.co/rE6WV3cI32 -RJJ

@ABC: #LatestOnOK: No confirmed fatalities yet, but Lt. Gov. says to expect them - "neighborhoods have been wiped away"
http://t.co/9qPEIDLw2z

@cnnbrk: 6 confirmed dead near Oklahoma City after #tornado. http://t.co/HNbaRcbk1k More on http://t.co/28h13hUrqq, CNN TV & CNN mobile.

@AP: More than a dozen kids among 60 people being treated for injuries at hospitals following tornado: http://t.co/X1WnAcwFjO -RJJ

@AP: BREAKING: State medical examiner's office: 37 killed in Oklahoma tornado; death toll expected to rise -RJJ


Death toll rises to at least 51 in Oklahoma tornado -state agency

May 20 (Reuters) - The death toll from a huge tornado that struck Moore, Oklahoma on Monday rose to 51, the state medical examiner's office said.

Amy Elliott, chief administrative officer of the Oklahoma medical examiner's office, said 51 were confirmed dead, up from 37 fatalities reported earlier.

The powerful tornado, rated the second highest strength level of EF4 and packing winds of up to 200 miles per hour (320 kph), touched down at mid-afternoon and devastated a wide area of the town.

(Reporting By Brendan O'Brien; Writing by Greg McCune; Editing by Bill Trott)


Read more: http://us.cnn.com/2013/05/20/us/severe-weather/index.html

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