As many as 91 people are feared dead in Oklahoma, where a tornado with winds of 320 kilometers an hour caused massive destruction Monday afternoon.
Rescue crews continue to search for survivors in Moore, a suburb of Oklahoma city, where the tornado flattened entire neighborhoods and sent debris flying through the air.
So far, 51 people have been confirmed dead, including at least 20 young children who were inside a school when the tornado hit.
A spokeswoman for the state's medical examiner's office said early Tuesday they were expecting as many as 40 more fatalities. At least 120 people were injured.
Rescue workers have pulled several children alive out of the rubble of two schools that were hit.
Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin told reporters that "hearts are broken'' for parents looking for their children. She deployed the state National Guard and extra police to assist with rescue operations.
President Barack Obama declared a major disaster in Oklahoma as a result of the storm. He ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide any assistance that Oklahoma needs.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano expressed sympathy for those impacted by the storm and pledged "all available resources" to help the affected areas.
The National Weather Service said the magnitude of this tornado was an EF-4, the second most-powerful type of twister on the five-level scale that measures a storm's destructive power.
Moore, Oklahoma also was hit hard by a deadly tornado in 1999.
The tornado Monday is the deadliest in the United States since 2011, when a storm in the central community of Joplin, Missouri killed 161 people.
VOA News
May 21, 2013
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