Story highlights Mayor of Moore does not expect death toll beyond 24 
 
 Ja'Nae Hornsby, 9, is among the children killed at the school, her father says 
 
 Authorities revise death toll downward to 24, including nine children 
 
 Crews going "board by board" in search for survivors, victims, official says 
 
 A search-and-rescue effort to find survivors of a monster tornado that pulverized a vast swath of the suburbs of Oklahoma City shifted Tuesday to one of recovery, officials said. 
 
 No new survivors or bodies have been found since the early hours after the tornado carved a trail 17 miles long on Monday afternoon. 
 
 "We feel like we have basically gone from rescue and searching to recovery," Glenn Lewis, the mayor of hard-hit Moore, told CNN's Anderson Cooper. 
 
 Lewis said he didn't expect the death toll to climb any higher. At least 24 people, including nine children, were killed, according to the state medical examiner's office. 
 
 "I think that will stand," Lewis said. 
 
 Earlier reports of at least 51 deaths were erroneous, said Amy Elliot, chief administrative officer for the Oklahoma Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. In the chaotic aftermath of the tornado, Elliot said it appeared some of the dead were counted twice. 
 
 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A message is left by a homeowner who lost his home in the May 20 tornado on Monday, May 27, in Moore, Oklahoma. View more photos of the aftermath in the region and another gallery of aerial shots of the damage Hide Caption 1 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Left to right, Jaqi Castro, Angelica Morris-Smith and Cetoria Petties walk through a tornado ravaged neighborhood handing out supplies to residents and fellow volunteers on May 27. Hide Caption 2 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Residents gather in the First Baptist Church for the Oklahoma Strong memorial service on Sunday, May 26, to honor victims of the recent deadly tornado in Moore, Oklahoma. Hide Caption 3 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Preschooler Keltin Marazzi, front center, stands on stage with other school children during the memorial service. Hide Caption 4 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin addresses the audience on May 26. Hide Caption 5 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Tornado victims Christa and Russell Smith hug their children, Evan and Justin Smith, as the service takes place. Hide Caption 6 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Plaza Towers Elementary School teacher Jennifer Doan is comforted by her fiance, Nyle Rogers, on May 26. Hide Caption 7 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – President Barack Obama is greeted as he tours the tornado-ravaged area near Moore, Oklahoma, on Sunday, May 26. Hide Caption 8 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Volunteers bow their heads in reverence on Saturday, May 25, in front of a memorial at the Plaza Towers Elementary School where seven children died during the devastating tornado, in Moore, Oklahoma, on May 20. Hide Caption 9 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Mike Hitch prepares to pull a classic Corvette from under the debris of a home destroyed by Monday's tornado on May 25. Hide Caption 10 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Mike Hitch loads a salvaged Corvette pulled from the rubble onto a tow truck in Moore on May 25. Hide Caption 11 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Eunice Lassiter sits in the driveway of a friend's tornado-damaged home on May 25 in Moore. Hide Caption 12 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A volunteer signs a cross on May 25 at a makeshift memorial outside of the destroyed Plaza Towers Elementary School where seven children were killed in Monday's tornado in Moore. Hide Caption 13 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Volunteers unload donated items for tornado victims at the Yellow Rose Theater on May 25 in Moore. Hide Caption 14 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Volunteer Brittany Pendergraft organizes donated tornado relief items inside the Yellow Rose Theater on May 25 in Moore. Hide Caption 15 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Eddie Jones of the Christian Life Center in Rolla, Missouri, cooks for residents and volunteers helping with tornado relief on May 25 in Moore. Hide Caption 16 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Carol Kawaykla holds a picture of her mother she found in the rubble of her tornado-devastated home in Moore, Oklahoma, on May 24. Hide Caption 17 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – The sun sets over debris from houses littering the ground in Moore, Oklahoma, on Thursday, May 23, three days after the town was damaged by a tornado. Hide Caption 18 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Debris is scattered across a driveway on May 23. Severe thunderstorms barreled through this Oklahoma City suburb at dawn Thursday, complicating cleanup efforts. Hide Caption 19 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Lightning strikes during a thunderstorm as people search for items that can be saved from their devastated home on May 23. Hide Caption 20 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A devastated neighborhood is seen on May 23 in Moore. Hide Caption 21 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A woman searches for belongings at a home on May 22 in Moore. Hide Caption 22 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Michael Pritz swings a golf club while taking a break from helping his friend to salvage belongings on May 22. Hide Caption 23 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Debris litters what remains of a classroom at Plaza Towers Elementary School on May 22. Seven children died at the school in Monday's tornado. Hide Caption 24 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A makeshift shelter stands next to a home destroyed by the tornado on May 22. Hide Caption 25 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Casey Angle walks on the bunk bed she shared with her sister Sydney, who was among the students killed at Plaza Towers Elementary School during the tornado. Hide Caption 26 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Tara McDonald shows some items salvaged from her home on May 22. Hide Caption 27 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A swing set sits warped at Plaza Towers Elementary School on May 22. Hide Caption 28 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Plaza Towers Elementary School students Monica Boyd and Lavontey Rodriguez sit at the parking lot of their tornado devastated school. Hide Caption 29 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Travis French and his wife, Amy, of Capitol Hill Baptist Church hand out fresh fruit, water and hygiene packs to Thomas and Kelcy Trowbridge. Hide Caption 30 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Teachers from Fairview Elementary School help clean up former school counselor Kay Taylor's home in south Oklahoma City on May 22, two days after an extremely powerful tornado tore through Moore, Oklahoma. Hide Caption 31 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Jake English, 12, cleans up retired school counselor Kay Taylor's home on May 22 in south Oklahoma City, just west of Moore. The storm was part of a tornado outbreak that began in the Midwest and Plains on Sunday, May 19. Hide Caption 32 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A man talks on his cell phone in front of a destroyed house on May 22. Hide Caption 33 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A man looks through a pile of clothing at a roadside relief camp on May 22 in Moore. Hide Caption 34 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Volunteers form a chain to retrieve clothing and other household items on May 22. Hide Caption 35 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Jon Booth moves a piece of debris from his mother's destroyed home across the street from Plaza Towers Elementary School on May 22. Hide Caption 36 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Matt Johnson salvages items from his grandparents' home on Tuesday, May 21. Hide Caption 37 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – An aerial view of the destruction on May 21. Hide Caption 38 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – The storm, which touched down near Newcastle, Oklahoma, spanned 1.3 miles. Some areas along the path were completely flattened. Hide Caption 39 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Two men fold an American flag found in the debris of a house on May 21 in Moore. Hide Caption 40 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A young girl stands among the rubble outside Briarwood Elementary School on May 21. Hide Caption 41 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A doll covered in dirt is among the rubble scattered throughout a neighborhood in Moore on May 21. Hide Caption 42 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Bonnie Lolofie, left, and Ashley Do carry belongings from their apartment, which has no power, on May 21. Hide Caption 43 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Residents salvage belongings from their demolished homes in Moore on May 21. Hide Caption 44 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Kelli Kannady weeps after finding a box of photographs of her late husband in the rubble near where her home once stood in Moore on May 21. Hide Caption 45 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Tufts of pink insulation hang from the rafters of a store in Moore on May 21 that was destroyed in the storm. Hide Caption 46 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Natalie Johnson searches through her mother's destroyed car outside Briarwood Elementary School in Moore on May 21. Hide Caption 47 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Rescuers dig out a house in Moore on May 21. Hide Caption 48 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – June Simson embraces her cat Sammi after she found him standing among the rubble of her destroyed home in Moore on May 21. Hide Caption 49 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A man stands on the roof of a destroyed home in Moore on May 21. Hide Caption 50 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A man helps move a resident's belongings from a destroyed home on May 21 in Moore. Hide Caption 51 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Air Force Airman First Class Justin Acord sifts through the rubble of his father-in-law's home in Moore on May 21. Hide Caption 52 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – People recover belongings from the rubble of a home in Moore. Hide Caption 53 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – People sort through a leveled home in Moore on May 21. Hide Caption 54 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Debris lies among headstones in the Moore Cemetery on May 21. Hide Caption 55 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Workers clean up the Warren movie theater in Moore on May 21. Hide Caption 56 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett surveys damage in Moore on May 21. Hide Caption 57 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Piles of debris lie around the north side of Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore on May 21. Hide Caption 58 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – As dawn breaks, storm clouds roll in over a devastated neighborhood in Moore on May 21. Hide Caption 59 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Members of the Oklahoma National Guard look for survivors in rubble in Moore on May 21. Hide Caption 60 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A National Guardsman assists in the search for victims on May 21. Hide Caption 61 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A rescue worker leads a horse from the wreckage of a day care center and barns on Monday, May 20, in Moore. Hide Caption 62 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Men tie an American flag on debris in a neighborhood off Telephone Road in Moore on May 20. Hide Caption 63 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Children wait for their parents to arrive at Briarwood Elementary School in south Oklahoma City on May 20. Hide Caption 64 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Teachers carry children away from Briarwood Elementary School on May 20. Hide Caption 65 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Teachers lead children away from Briarwood Elementary School on May 20. Read more about the photo. Hide Caption 66 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A fire official drives through the rubble of Moore Medical Center on May 20. Hide Caption 67 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Abby Madi, left, and Peterson Zatterlee comfort Zatterlee's dog, Rippy, on Monday, May 20, in Moore. Hide Caption 68 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A woman is treated for her injuries on May 20 at a triage area set up for the wounded. Hide Caption 69 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Two girls stand in rubble in Moore. Hide Caption 70 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Rescue workers help free one of more than a dozen people who were trapped at a medical center in Moore on May 20. Hide Caption 71 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Oklahoma City firefighters check on Gene Tripp on May 20 as he sits in his rocking chair where his home once stood. Hide Caption 72 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A nurse helps an older man who suffered a head injury on May 20 in Moore. Hide Caption 73 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Cars marked with an orange X, meaning they have been checked for occupants, are piled up in front of the entrance to the damaged Moore Medical Center on May 20. Hide Caption 74 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Jim Routon hugs his neighbor, 7-year-old Hezekiah, after the tornado strikes on May 20. An earlier version of this caption incorrectly stated that Routon was Hezekiah's teacher. See an interview with the pair. Hide Caption 75 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – People look through the wreckage of their neighborhood after a tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, on May 20. Hide Caption 76 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Dana Ulepich searches inside a room left standing at the back of her destroyed house in Moore on May 20. Hide Caption 77 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Residents look through the debris in Moore on May 20. Hide Caption 78 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A man looks through the remains of a home after the massive tornado struck Moore on May 20. Hide Caption 79 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A woman is transported on a stretcher after she was rescued from the damaged medical center in Moore on May 20. Hide Caption 80 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A woman walks through debris in Moore on May 20. Hide Caption 81 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A man is taken away from the IMAX Theater in Moore that was used as a triage center on May 20. Hide Caption 82 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A girl wraps herself in a blanket near the Moore Hospital on May 20. Hide Caption 83 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A nurse walks by the destruction at a Moore hospital on May 20. Hide Caption 84 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Destroyed cars scatter the landscape in Moore, Oklahoma, where hundreds of homes and buildings were put to ruin on May 20. Hide Caption 85 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A woman with an arm injury is helped on May 20 in Moore. Hide Caption 86 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Extensive damage from the tornado destroyed cars and demolished structures in Moore on May 20. Hide Caption 87 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Onlookers stop to view a portion of the destruction left behind on May 20 in Moore. Hide Caption 88 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Overturned cars are among the rubble from the tornado that hit Moore on May 20. Hide Caption 89 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A woman is comforted after the May 20 tornado in Moore. Hide Caption 90 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A shredded tree stands amid debris in the aftermath of the storm in Moore on May 20. Hide Caption 91 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A shopping center parking lot is covered with debris and damaged cars on May 20. Hide Caption 92 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Law enforcement officers block a roadway in Moore where there was extensive damage from the tornado. Hide Caption 93 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A massive tornado approaches Moore on May 20. The storm first touched down to the west of the city near Newcastle, Oklahoma. Visit CNN.com/impact for ways to help the victims. Hide Caption 94 of 94 
 
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 'One of the strongest storms' 
 
 Damage assessments conducted Tuesday showed the tornado packed winds, at times, between 200 and 210 miles per hour, making it an EF5 -- the strongest category of tornadoes measured, the National Weather Service said Tuesday. 
 
 Teams are still evaluating the destruction, and the rating released Tuesday is preliminary. So far, they've found that the tornado's width spanned 1.3 miles -- the length of more than 22 football fields lined up end-to-end. 
 
 Given its breadth and power, it ranks among some of the strongest storms ever to strike the United States, CNN senior meteorologist Dave Hennen 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. 
 
 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, the mayor said city officials were racing to print new street signs to help guide rescuers and residents through a suddenly twisted and unfamiliar landscape. 
 
 A search-and-rescue team was sent from nearby Tinker Air Force Base, which also provided search lights, vehicles and water trucks, while neighboring Texas sent an elite 80-member urban search team. The American Red Cross sent 25 emergency response vehicles. 
 
 Rescue crews were expected to complete a search for victims by late Tuesday, Moore Fire Chief Gary Bird told CNN. 
 
 "We will be through every damaged piece of property in this city at least three times," Bird told reporters. "And we hope to be done by dark tonight." 
 
 More than 230 people were injured, according to authorities. 
 
 Photos: Photos: Tornadoes strike Midwest Photos: Photos: Tornadoes strike Midwest Tornadoes wreak havoc in Midwest – 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. Hide Caption 1 of 18 Photos: Photos: Tornadoes strike Midwest Tornadoes wreak havoc in Midwest – 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. Hide Caption 2 of 18 Photos: Photos: Tornadoes strike Midwest Tornadoes wreak havoc in Midwest – A deadly tornado destroys cars and demolishes structures in the town of Moore, near Oklahoma City, on Monday, May 20. Hide Caption 3 of 18 Photos: Photos: Tornadoes strike Midwest Tornadoes wreak havoc in Midwest – A volunteer helps clean up a mobile home on May 20 after it was overturned on a day earlier near Shawnee, Oklahoma. Hide Caption 4 of 18 Photos: Photos: Tornadoes strike Midwest Tornadoes wreak havoc in Midwest – Jean McAdams' mobile home near Shawnee, Oklahoma, lies overturned on May 20. Hide Caption 5 of 18 Photos: Photos: Tornadoes strike Midwest Tornadoes wreak havoc in Midwest – 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. Hide Caption 6 of 18 Photos: Photos: Tornadoes strike Midwest Tornadoes wreak havoc in Midwest – Tom and Ronda Clark get help with cleanup on May 20, after their property near Shawnee was damaged by a tornado on May 19. Hide Caption 7 of 18 Photos: Photos: Tornadoes strike Midwest Tornadoes wreak havoc in Midwest – Lonnie Langston says his garage was swept off the concrete pad next to his house by a tornado near Shawnee. Hide Caption 8 of 18 Photos: Photos: Tornadoes strike Midwest Tornadoes wreak havoc in Midwest – Shawnee residents embrace on May 20 as they search through the remains of their home. Hide Caption 9 of 18 Photos: Photos: Tornadoes strike Midwest Tornadoes wreak havoc in Midwest – A home in Shawnee sits in ruin after being hit by a tornado on Sunday, May 19. Hide Caption 10 of 18 Photos: Photos: Tornadoes strike Midwest Tornadoes wreak havoc in Midwest – A twister stretches toward the ground near South Haven, Kansas, on May 19. Hide Caption 11 of 18 Photos: Photos: Tornadoes strike Midwest Tornadoes wreak havoc in Midwest – Residents repair the roof of a neighbor's damaged house after a tree fell on it in Shawnee on May 19. Hide Caption 12 of 18 Photos: Photos: Tornadoes strike Midwest Tornadoes wreak havoc in Midwest – A woman waits to be allowed back to her home after a tornado swept through Shawnee on May 19. Hide Caption 13 of 18 Photos: Photos: Tornadoes strike Midwest Tornadoes wreak havoc in Midwest – Storm chaser and videographer Brad Mack records a tornado touchdown in South Haven, Kansas, on May 19. Hide Caption 14 of 18 Photos: Photos: Tornadoes strike Midwest Tornadoes wreak havoc in Midwest – 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. Hide Caption 15 of 18 Photos: Photos: Tornadoes strike Midwest Tornadoes wreak havoc in Midwest – A tornado touches down near Wichita, Kansas, on Sunday, May 19. Hide Caption 16 of 18 Photos: Photos: Tornadoes strike Midwest Tornadoes wreak havoc in Midwest – 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. Hide Caption 17 of 18 Photos: Photos: Tornadoes strike Midwest Tornadoes wreak havoc in Midwest – Lightning strikes in Clearwater, Kansas, on May 19. Hide Caption 18 of 18 
 
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 'Can't believe this' 
 
 Some residents of Moore returned home to piles of debris, hoping to find pictures or some memento. 
 
 "You just wanna break down and cry," Steve Wilkerson told CNN, holding a laundry basket that contained the few, intact belongings he could find. 
 
 "But you know, that's how it goes," Wilkerson said, his voice shaking. "You gotta be strong and keep going." 
 
 Wilkerson has been through tornadoes before, but nothing like this one. 
 
 "I still can't believe this is happening," he said. "You work 20 years, and then it's gone in 15 minutes." 
 
 All that remained in some places were "sticks and bricks," Fallin told reporters, calling the storm one of the "most horrific storms and disasters that this state has ever faced." 
 
 Police, firefighters, volunteers and nearly 180 National Guard troops joined forces Tuesday in searching the rubble and securing areas hit by the storm. 
 
 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. 
 
 Path of devastation 
 
 The tornado struck at 2:45 pm C.T. on Monday -- only 5 minutes after the first warnings went out, according to the National Weather Service. 
 
 Moore residents had about 30 minutes before the massive storm entered the western part of the city, CNN meteorologist Sean Morris said. 
 
 Among the many buildings struck by the storm were two schools: Plaza Towers and Briarwood elementaries. 
 
 Of the nine children killed by the storm, authorities said seven died at Plaza Towers Elementary School where the tornado ripped the roof off and collapsed walls. 
 
 Among the dead is 9-year-old Ja'Nae Hornsby, who was killed at Plaza Towers, her father told CNN's Anderson Cooper. 
 
 About 75 students and staff members were hunkered down in Plaza Towers when the tornado struck, CNN affiliate KFOR reported. 
 
 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." 
 
 'It's heartbreaking' 
 
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 James Dickens, a gas-and-oil pipeline worker, grabbed his hard had and joined 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." 
 
 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, Lt. Gov. Todd 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." 
 
 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." ||||| A monstrous tornado killed at least 51 people Monday as it roared through Moore and south Oklahoma City — leaving rescue workers frantically searching into the night for missing children at the devastated Plaza Towers Elementary School in the Moore School District. 
 
 At least 20 children were included among those killed, and the death toll is expected to rise, the state medical examiner reported. 
 
 More than 100 were injured. 
 
 President Barack Obama issued a federal disaster declaration late Monday. The president's action makes federal funding available to affected individuals in Cleveland, Lincoln, McClain, Oklahoma and Pottawatomie counties. 
 
 Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper Betsy Randolph described the devastation as “the worst thing I have ever seen.” 
 
 “When I got to Moore, I saw a lot of walking wounded — people with blood all over. It was a matter of putting work gloves on and getting to work,” she said. “We hope that we don't have any more fatalities, but we know there are a lot more people trapped tonight.” 
 
 Randolph urged people to stay away from the area. 
 
 The number of fatalities already has surpassed the 44 killed in the horrific May 3, 1999, tornado that previously devastated the Moore-south Oklahoma City area. 
 
 As night fell, relatives were crying out for their children at Plaza Towers, where they said more than 20 children were missing and feared dead. Emergency responders continued working late into the night in hopes of finding survivors. 
 
 Plaza Towers was one of two Moore elementary schools ravaged by the massive tornado as it ground up neighborhoods, cars and everything else in its path. 
 
 Briarwood Elementary School was the other elementary school slammed. 
 
 The gymnasium at Moore's Highland East Junior High School also was struck, leaving football equipment strewn across the ground. 
 
 Chaos reigned at Briarwood shortly after the tornado hit as crying, mud-caked children could be seen streaming from the collapsed building. 
 
 Frantic parents rushed toward the school, dodging downed power lines and scattered debris. 
 
 What appeared to be the lifeless body of a child was pulled from the rubble of a home about four houses down from the school. 
 
 The tornado — with wind speeds preliminarily estimated at up to 200 mph — ripped the roof off the school and collapsed school walls, leaving several children trapped in the debris. Emergency workers arrived quickly on the scene and began laboring to free the children. A witness said none of the Briarwood school children he saw appeared to have major injuries. 
 
 The smell of natural gas filled the air from broken gas lines. 
 
 Emergency Medical Services Authority rushed ambulances to schools, several homes, businesses and intersections in response to reports of multiple injuries. 
 
 Later Monday, Briarwood students were taken to a location at Vicki Drive and 156 Court, where officials sought to reunite them with parents. 
 
 Southmoore High School used a bus and police squad cars to shuttle students from the school to a location where they could be reunited with their parents following the storm. 
 
 Garrett Bennett, a 15-year-old freshman, said he was in the field house with coaches and other players when the storm hit. 
 
 Coaches had about 15 students and student managers go to a locker room in the building's interior, and at one point had them all put on football helmets, Bennett said. 
 
 “They came in and told us to get on the floor and put your head down,” he said. 
 
 Kelly Wells, Norman Regional Medical Center spokeswoman, said Moore Medical Center was significantly damaged, with the second floor largely gone. 
 
 “All of our staff has been accounted for,” she said. “None of our patients there have been critically injured. We're in the process of evacuating the hospital.” 
 
 The hospital had 30 patients at the time. They were being taken to two Norman hospitals. 
 
 Wells said staff members told her the hospital's second floor is “pretty much gone, and the front side is gone.” The north end of the hospital was also heavily damaged, she said. 
 
 OU Medical Center and Children's Hospital reported treating 85 storm patients, including 65 children. Medical conditions ranged from minor to critical. 
 
 St. Anthony Hospital treated six injured patients and Integris Health Southwest Medical Center treated 55, including a 7-year-old boy whose parents could not be located. Hospital officials said they would keep him until his parents are found. 
 
 Obama spoke with Gov. Mary Fallin on Monday evening and told the governor Oklahomans were in the prayers of the president and first lady. 
 
 The president said his administration, through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, stands ready to provide all available assistance as the governor's team responds to the storm. 
 
 At a news conference in Moore, Fallin said she had activated the National Guard and rescuers were trying to find all those who were missing. 
 
 “Our hearts are just broken for the parents that are wondering (about) the state of their children that have been in the schools that have been hit today,” Fallin said. 
 
 Five schools were damaged by Monday's storm, she said. 
 
 “We have brought in rescue dogs to go through the debris itself. It will be dark pretty soon and we want to do everything we can to continue to look for those who might be lost in this tragedy,” Fallin said. 
 
 “We've had a massive tornado, a huge one that has passed through this community. We do know there are fatalities. ... We know there are a lot of injuries.” 
 
 Fallin said a reunification center has been set up at St. Andrew's United Methodist Church at SW 119 and S May Avenue in Oklahoma City. 
 
 Police said later that some children were being reunited with families at First Baptist Church of Moore, at NE 27 and Interstate 35. 
 
 A woman in OU Medical Center's waiting room, who would only identify herself as Dina, said a friend who owns A Step Above day care in the tornado-damaged area had told her she was heading to the hospital with the children. She said the owner had texted her earlier to say “we're alive but buried under.” 
 
 “There's damage at a wide scope at this point,” EMSA spokeswoman Lara O'Leary said Monday afternoon. 
 
 Among the many damaged businesses were the Moore Branch of Tinker Federal Credit Union and Warren Theatres. 
 
 Officials reported the credit union branch at 400 SW 6 sustained “considerable damage” and would be closed indefinitely. Credit union employees hunkered down in the vault to weather the storm and were released unharmed from the vault later with the help of first responders. All personal safe deposit boxes were reported secure. 
 
 Jill Gottschalk, an assistant in Warren Theatres' corporate office in Wichita, Kan., said there were no reports of injuries to theater employees or patrons. 
 
 “Obviously, we are just in a loss of words right now,” she said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone ... Anything any of us can do here we're definitely in gear to go do it.” 
 
 All EMSA emergency crews were dispatched to the damaged area. Edmond police also were being sent to the area. 
 
 Gas leaks were reported in Moore, where a destroyed home could be seen burning in one of the damaged neighborhoods Monday afternoon. 
 
 Law enforcement officers closed Interstate 35 in both directions between Interstate 240 and Indian Hills Road. 
 
 Officers also closed the H.E. Bailey Turnpike at State Highway 4 due to the tornado. 
 
 Monday afternoon's tornado was strikingly similar to the gigantic May 3, 1999, tornado that ravaged Moore and south Oklahoma City, killing 44, injuring hundreds and destroying thousands of homes. 
 
 Monday's huge wedge-shaped funnel initially dropped from the skies at 2:56 p.m. near Newcastle and began churning northeastward through southwest Oklahoma City and Moore, spewing power flashes and mercilessly grinding up everything in its path. 
 
 In Newcastle, 35 to 40 homes were either severely damaged or destroyed and one person was critically injured, said Kevin Self, Newcastle emergency manager. 
 
 A section of Interstate 44 was closed for a time due to a ruptured gas line, but the leak was capped and the highway reopened about sundown, Self said. 
 
 The tornado crossed Interstate 35 near the Warren Theatres before continuing east-northeastward and eventually lifting west of Lake Stanley Draper at 3:36 p.m., according to the National Weather Service. 
 
 The debris path was several blocks wide and stretched for 20 miles. The National Weather Service said preliminary indications are the tornado was at least an EF4, which indicates wind speeds of up to 200 mph. 
 
 The Oklahoma Corporation Commission reported more than 61,500 power outages related to the storm. 
 
 Another tornado reportedly touched down near Sparks in southern Lincoln County, but no immediate damage estimate was available, according to a Lincoln County Emergency Management spokeswoman. 
 
 The tornadoes struck while Oklahomans still were staggering from Sunday night's tornadoes, which destroyed homes in several other communities and left two dead. 
 
 Contributing: Staff Writers Nolan Clay, Matt Dinger, Silas Allen, William Crum, Jaclyn Cosgrove, Diana Baldwin, Andrew Knittle, Zeke Campfield, LEIGHANNE MANWARREN, Michael McNutt, Chris Casteel, Ben Luschen, Carrie Coppernoll, Matt Patterson, Brandy McDonnell and Carla Hinton, and The Associated Press. 
 
 wmctv.com: Watch time-lapse video of the tornado ||||| Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period. ||||| Slideshow: Tornadoes ravage Plains Sue Ogrocki / AP A monster tornado hit Moore, Okla., Monday afternoon, leaving scores dead as the threat for more storms continues. Launch slideshow 
 
 About 9.5 million people remained under the threat of more "large and devastating" tornadoes Tuesday as the storm system that devastated the suburbs of Oklahoma City moved east, forecasters warned. 
 
 Weather Channel meteorologist Kevin Roth said early Tuesday that the threat area appeared to be east and south of Oklahoma City. 
 
 "Tornadoes, damaging wind gusts and large hail are possible throughout the threat area," Roth said. 
 
 More from weather.com 
 
 The greatest tornado threat will exist in northeast Texas, far southeast Oklahoma, southwest Arkansas and northwest Louisiana. A few strong tornadoes are possible in those states. On Tuesday afternoon The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for Bowie County, Texas, which borders Arkansas in the northeast part of the state. 
 
 Michael Welch captures dramatic video of twister from a KFC parking lot in Newcastle, Oklahoma. 
 
 Roth said that cities including Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio, Shreveport, Texarkana and Little Rock were among the cities "close to the the larger tornado threat." 
 
 A tornado watch was issued for Dallas-Fort Worth as well as all of north and central Texas until 8 p.m. ET. The Dallas zoo closed Tuesday afternoon due to the forecast. Strong wind gusts have been reported in the area but so far no tornadoes. 
 
 Areas of Arkansas were under a tornado watch until 11 p.m. ET. 
 
 "Another day of large and devastating tornadoes is possible this time from central/east Texas into central Arkansas," Roth said. 
 
 "Severe threat continues farther to the east Wednesday, although the overall severity appears to be lower." 
 
 Weather Channel forecaster Bill Karins told MSNBC that 9.5 million people lived in the area at most risk of more tornadoes. He said the likely pattern for twisters was the same as in recent days, with the biggest risk being in the late afternoon. 
 
 The National Weather Service said storms were expected Tuesday "from the Great Lakes across the Mississippi River Valley and into central Texas." 
 
 The agency issued a tornado watch late Monday for portions of east central Illinois, western and central Indiana, western Kentucky and southeast Missouri. The watch was in effect until 5 a.m. local time (6 a.m. ET). 
 
 According to Roth, severe storms appeared possible from southeast New York to east Maryland on Thursday. 
 
 He added: "An early look at Memorial Day Weekend shows that most of the country should be quiet. The stormiest weather appears to be across the Plains and Midwest with scattered showers and thunderstorms." 
 
 Related: 
 
 NBC's Andrew Rafferty contributed to this report 
 
 This story was originally published on ||||| A few hours after a massive tornado tore through the Oklahoma City area, ravaging neighborhoods and two elementary schools and killing at least 51 people, Edie Cordray sent an urgent message to members of her church in nearby Norman. 
 
 "Please pray for my best friend," she wrote. 
 
 The friend, Becky Jo Evans, teaches first grade at Plaza Towers Elementary School, which took a direct hit. Evans and her students were missing, Cordray wrote. 
 
 PHOTOS: Tornadoes hit Oklahoma 
 
 Cordray was at her church, where she works as a day-care teacher, when the tornado hit with 200-mph winds. 
 
 Cordray and Evans have been best friends for more than six years, Cordray said. "She's my life. She's my family." 
 
 "The minute I heard she was missing, I didn't want to talk to anyone," she said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. "I was going to drive from Moore" to try to find Evans. 
 
 MAP: Path of destruction 
 
 Her pastor, Chad Bartlett, consoled her and kept her from driving. 
 
 "They're going to get her," Bartlett could be heard on the phone telling Cordray. "She's going to be all right. Don't drive. Don't go up there." 
 
 Just after 6 p.m., Cordray received a text message: Evans had been found. But her students had not. 
 
 By Monday evening, Cordray sounded happy. She had talked with Evans on the phone and was driving to Oklahoma City to see her. 
 
 Evans got some of her students into a bathroom, Cordray said she told her. The walls started falling in on them, so she jumped on top of them, shielding them with her body. After the storm had passed, Evans pulled children from the destroyed building. But she still doesn't know how many of them survived. 
 
 "There's still a lot of confusion on where the kids are," Cordray said. When Cordray talked to Evans on the phone, Cordray said she told her she was a hero and could not wait to hug her. 
 
 "After I knew she was OK, I knew I was not going to go to bed until I saw her and hugged her," Cordray told The Times. 
 
 Cordray was watching children herself at the day-care center in Norman, and herded them into a bathroom too. They were unscathed. 
 
 But Cordray saw that the storm was heading toward Evans' school and kept sending her text messages. She became frantic when the text messages didn't go through. 
 
 Cordray herself had been through the May 3, 1999, tornado, which packed 300-mph winds and killed 44 people. She couldn't help thinking back on the terror of that day. She was 12 then and at a Girl Scouts meeting in Moore. She remembers seeing destruction and flattened houses and cars as she was being driven home after the storm. 
 
 "You can hear it, and you're scared, but when you come out and you see all the destruction around you, there aren't words to explain." 
 
 hailey.branson@latimes.com 
 
 ALSO: 
 
 Botched robbery leads to N.Y. student's death -- by police 
 
 Alaska governor launches bid to measure oil in Arctic refuge 
 
 Jodi Arias' lawyers again ask to withdraw; judge again says no ||||| President Barack Obama is expected to deliver a statement about the tornado damage in Oklahoma at about 10a.m. from the White House. 
 
 Obama also is sending FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate to Oklahoma this morning to coordinate the rescue and recover federal effort. 
 
 (PHOTOS: Oklahoma tornado) 
 
 The president’s remarks about the tragedy that has claimed at least 51 lives comes the day after he declared a major disaster exists Oklahoma and ordered Federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the area affected by severe storms and tornadoes. 
 
 This post has been updated. 
 
 Read more about: Oklahoma Tornado ||||| Story highlights At its strongest, the tornado was an EF5, the National Weather Service says 
 
 At least 24 dead, more than 100 people rescued after tornado hit, officials say 
 
 Insurance claims will likely top $1 billion, state insurance official says 
 
 The mayor says "we (have) gone from rescue and searching to recovery" 
 
 At least 24 people -- including nine children -- were killed when a massive tornado struck an area outside Oklahoma City on Monday afternoon, officials said. 
 
 At least seven of those children were killed at Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Oklahoma, police said. Emergency personnel on Tuesday continued to scour the school's rubble -- a scene of twisted I-beams and crumbled cinder blocks. 
 
 The tornado was 1.3 miles wide as it moved through Moore, in the southern part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, the National Weather Service said. The estimated peak wind ranged from 200 to 210 mph -- which would make it an EF5, the most powerful category of tornadoes possible -- according to the agency. 
 
 Ja'Nae Hornsby, 9, is among the children killed at the school, her father says. 
 
 Latest update: 
 
 -- About 2,400 homes were damaged in the Oklahoma cities of Moore and Oklahoma City, said Jerry Lojka of the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management. Some 10,000 people were directly impacted by the tornado, he said. 
 
 Previously reported: 
 
 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A message is left by a homeowner who lost his home in the May 20 tornado on Monday, May 27, in Moore, Oklahoma. View more photos of the aftermath in the region and another gallery of aerial shots of the damage Hide Caption 1 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Left to right, Jaqi Castro, Angelica Morris-Smith and Cetoria Petties walk through a tornado ravaged neighborhood handing out supplies to residents and fellow volunteers on May 27. Hide Caption 2 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Residents gather in the First Baptist Church for the Oklahoma Strong memorial service on Sunday, May 26, to honor victims of the recent deadly tornado in Moore, Oklahoma. Hide Caption 3 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Preschooler Keltin Marazzi, front center, stands on stage with other school children during the memorial service. Hide Caption 4 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin addresses the audience on May 26. Hide Caption 5 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Tornado victims Christa and Russell Smith hug their children, Evan and Justin Smith, as the service takes place. Hide Caption 6 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Plaza Towers Elementary School teacher Jennifer Doan is comforted by her fiance, Nyle Rogers, on May 26. Hide Caption 7 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – President Barack Obama is greeted as he tours the tornado-ravaged area near Moore, Oklahoma, on Sunday, May 26. Hide Caption 8 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Volunteers bow their heads in reverence on Saturday, May 25, in front of a memorial at the Plaza Towers Elementary School where seven children died during the devastating tornado, in Moore, Oklahoma, on May 20. Hide Caption 9 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Mike Hitch prepares to pull a classic Corvette from under the debris of a home destroyed by Monday's tornado on May 25. Hide Caption 10 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Mike Hitch loads a salvaged Corvette pulled from the rubble onto a tow truck in Moore on May 25. Hide Caption 11 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Eunice Lassiter sits in the driveway of a friend's tornado-damaged home on May 25 in Moore. Hide Caption 12 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A volunteer signs a cross on May 25 at a makeshift memorial outside of the destroyed Plaza Towers Elementary School where seven children were killed in Monday's tornado in Moore. Hide Caption 13 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Volunteers unload donated items for tornado victims at the Yellow Rose Theater on May 25 in Moore. Hide Caption 14 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Volunteer Brittany Pendergraft organizes donated tornado relief items inside the Yellow Rose Theater on May 25 in Moore. Hide Caption 15 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Eddie Jones of the Christian Life Center in Rolla, Missouri, cooks for residents and volunteers helping with tornado relief on May 25 in Moore. Hide Caption 16 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Carol Kawaykla holds a picture of her mother she found in the rubble of her tornado-devastated home in Moore, Oklahoma, on May 24. Hide Caption 17 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – The sun sets over debris from houses littering the ground in Moore, Oklahoma, on Thursday, May 23, three days after the town was damaged by a tornado. Hide Caption 18 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Debris is scattered across a driveway on May 23. Severe thunderstorms barreled through this Oklahoma City suburb at dawn Thursday, complicating cleanup efforts. Hide Caption 19 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Lightning strikes during a thunderstorm as people search for items that can be saved from their devastated home on May 23. Hide Caption 20 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A devastated neighborhood is seen on May 23 in Moore. Hide Caption 21 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A woman searches for belongings at a home on May 22 in Moore. Hide Caption 22 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Michael Pritz swings a golf club while taking a break from helping his friend to salvage belongings on May 22. Hide Caption 23 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Debris litters what remains of a classroom at Plaza Towers Elementary School on May 22. Seven children died at the school in Monday's tornado. Hide Caption 24 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A makeshift shelter stands next to a home destroyed by the tornado on May 22. Hide Caption 25 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Casey Angle walks on the bunk bed she shared with her sister Sydney, who was among the students killed at Plaza Towers Elementary School during the tornado. Hide Caption 26 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Tara McDonald shows some items salvaged from her home on May 22. Hide Caption 27 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A swing set sits warped at Plaza Towers Elementary School on May 22. Hide Caption 28 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Plaza Towers Elementary School students Monica Boyd and Lavontey Rodriguez sit at the parking lot of their tornado devastated school. Hide Caption 29 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Travis French and his wife, Amy, of Capitol Hill Baptist Church hand out fresh fruit, water and hygiene packs to Thomas and Kelcy Trowbridge. Hide Caption 30 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Teachers from Fairview Elementary School help clean up former school counselor Kay Taylor's home in south Oklahoma City on May 22, two days after an extremely powerful tornado tore through Moore, Oklahoma. Hide Caption 31 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Jake English, 12, cleans up retired school counselor Kay Taylor's home on May 22 in south Oklahoma City, just west of Moore. The storm was part of a tornado outbreak that began in the Midwest and Plains on Sunday, May 19. Hide Caption 32 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A man talks on his cell phone in front of a destroyed house on May 22. Hide Caption 33 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A man looks through a pile of clothing at a roadside relief camp on May 22 in Moore. Hide Caption 34 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Volunteers form a chain to retrieve clothing and other household items on May 22. Hide Caption 35 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Jon Booth moves a piece of debris from his mother's destroyed home across the street from Plaza Towers Elementary School on May 22. Hide Caption 36 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Matt Johnson salvages items from his grandparents' home on Tuesday, May 21. Hide Caption 37 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – An aerial view of the destruction on May 21. Hide Caption 38 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – The storm, which touched down near Newcastle, Oklahoma, spanned 1.3 miles. Some areas along the path were completely flattened. Hide Caption 39 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Two men fold an American flag found in the debris of a house on May 21 in Moore. Hide Caption 40 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A young girl stands among the rubble outside Briarwood Elementary School on May 21. Hide Caption 41 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A doll covered in dirt is among the rubble scattered throughout a neighborhood in Moore on May 21. Hide Caption 42 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Bonnie Lolofie, left, and Ashley Do carry belongings from their apartment, which has no power, on May 21. Hide Caption 43 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Residents salvage belongings from their demolished homes in Moore on May 21. Hide Caption 44 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Kelli Kannady weeps after finding a box of photographs of her late husband in the rubble near where her home once stood in Moore on May 21. Hide Caption 45 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Tufts of pink insulation hang from the rafters of a store in Moore on May 21 that was destroyed in the storm. Hide Caption 46 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Natalie Johnson searches through her mother's destroyed car outside Briarwood Elementary School in Moore on May 21. Hide Caption 47 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Rescuers dig out a house in Moore on May 21. Hide Caption 48 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – June Simson embraces her cat Sammi after she found him standing among the rubble of her destroyed home in Moore on May 21. Hide Caption 49 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A man stands on the roof of a destroyed home in Moore on May 21. Hide Caption 50 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A man helps move a resident's belongings from a destroyed home on May 21 in Moore. Hide Caption 51 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Air Force Airman First Class Justin Acord sifts through the rubble of his father-in-law's home in Moore on May 21. Hide Caption 52 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – People recover belongings from the rubble of a home in Moore. Hide Caption 53 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – People sort through a leveled home in Moore on May 21. Hide Caption 54 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Debris lies among headstones in the Moore Cemetery on May 21. Hide Caption 55 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Workers clean up the Warren movie theater in Moore on May 21. Hide Caption 56 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett surveys damage in Moore on May 21. Hide Caption 57 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Piles of debris lie around the north side of Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore on May 21. Hide Caption 58 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – As dawn breaks, storm clouds roll in over a devastated neighborhood in Moore on May 21. Hide Caption 59 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Members of the Oklahoma National Guard look for survivors in rubble in Moore on May 21. Hide Caption 60 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A National Guardsman assists in the search for victims on May 21. Hide Caption 61 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A rescue worker leads a horse from the wreckage of a day care center and barns on Monday, May 20, in Moore. Hide Caption 62 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Men tie an American flag on debris in a neighborhood off Telephone Road in Moore on May 20. Hide Caption 63 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Children wait for their parents to arrive at Briarwood Elementary School in south Oklahoma City on May 20. Hide Caption 64 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Teachers carry children away from Briarwood Elementary School on May 20. Hide Caption 65 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Teachers lead children away from Briarwood Elementary School on May 20. Read more about the photo. Hide Caption 66 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A fire official drives through the rubble of Moore Medical Center on May 20. Hide Caption 67 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Abby Madi, left, and Peterson Zatterlee comfort Zatterlee's dog, Rippy, on Monday, May 20, in Moore. Hide Caption 68 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A woman is treated for her injuries on May 20 at a triage area set up for the wounded. Hide Caption 69 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Two girls stand in rubble in Moore. Hide Caption 70 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Rescue workers help free one of more than a dozen people who were trapped at a medical center in Moore on May 20. Hide Caption 71 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Oklahoma City firefighters check on Gene Tripp on May 20 as he sits in his rocking chair where his home once stood. Hide Caption 72 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A nurse helps an older man who suffered a head injury on May 20 in Moore. Hide Caption 73 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Cars marked with an orange X, meaning they have been checked for occupants, are piled up in front of the entrance to the damaged Moore Medical Center on May 20. Hide Caption 74 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Jim Routon hugs his neighbor, 7-year-old Hezekiah, after the tornado strikes on May 20. An earlier version of this caption incorrectly stated that Routon was Hezekiah's teacher. See an interview with the pair. Hide Caption 75 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – People look through the wreckage of their neighborhood after a tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, on May 20. Hide Caption 76 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Dana Ulepich searches inside a room left standing at the back of her destroyed house in Moore on May 20. Hide Caption 77 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Residents look through the debris in Moore on May 20. Hide Caption 78 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A man looks through the remains of a home after the massive tornado struck Moore on May 20. Hide Caption 79 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A woman is transported on a stretcher after she was rescued from the damaged medical center in Moore on May 20. Hide Caption 80 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A woman walks through debris in Moore on May 20. Hide Caption 81 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A man is taken away from the IMAX Theater in Moore that was used as a triage center on May 20. Hide Caption 82 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A girl wraps herself in a blanket near the Moore Hospital on May 20. Hide Caption 83 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A nurse walks by the destruction at a Moore hospital on May 20. Hide Caption 84 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Destroyed cars scatter the landscape in Moore, Oklahoma, where hundreds of homes and buildings were put to ruin on May 20. Hide Caption 85 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A woman with an arm injury is helped on May 20 in Moore. Hide Caption 86 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Extensive damage from the tornado destroyed cars and demolished structures in Moore on May 20. Hide Caption 87 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Onlookers stop to view a portion of the destruction left behind on May 20 in Moore. Hide Caption 88 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Overturned cars are among the rubble from the tornado that hit Moore on May 20. Hide Caption 89 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A woman is comforted after the May 20 tornado in Moore. Hide Caption 90 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A shredded tree stands amid debris in the aftermath of the storm in Moore on May 20. Hide Caption 91 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A shopping center parking lot is covered with debris and damaged cars on May 20. Hide Caption 92 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – Law enforcement officers block a roadway in Moore where there was extensive damage from the tornado. Hide Caption 93 of 94 Photos: Photos: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area – A massive tornado approaches Moore on May 20. The storm first touched down to the west of the city near Newcastle, Oklahoma. Visit CNN.com/impact for ways to help the victims. Hide Caption 94 of 94 
 
 JUST WATCHED Tornado hits Moore Medical Center Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Tornado hits Moore Medical Center 01:00 
 
 JUST WATCHED Disaster from the sky in Oklahoma Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Disaster from the sky in Oklahoma 01:49 
 
 JUST WATCHED Haunting footage from storm chasers Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Haunting footage from storm chasers 03:04 
 
 -- Gov. Mary Fallin said the tornado was "one of (the) most horrific storms and disasters that this state has ever faced." Oklahoma "will get through this. ... We will overcome. We will rebuild. We will regain our strength," she said. 
 
 -- Officials are working on legislation for an emergency fund that would help the state's recovery. 
 
 -- Insurance claims will likely top $1 billion, Kelly Collins of the Oklahoma Insurance Commission told CNN. The cost would be higher than that from the May 3, 1999, tornado that hit the same area. 
 
 -- Moore Fire Chief Gary Bird said searchers planned to search every affected structure and vehicle three times by Tuesday night. 
 
 A few hours later, Moore Mayor Glenn Lewis told CNN that he doesn't expect the death toll will rise past 24, saying, "I think that will stand." 
 
 Photos: Photos: Destruction from above Photos: Photos: Destruction from above The path of destruction from above – An aerial view of the destruction caused by the massive tornado that struck areas south of Oklahoma City on Monday, May 20, shows the magnitude of damage left in its path. The storm's winds topped 200 mph as it carved a 17-mile path of destruction through Oklahoma City suburbs. On Tuesday, May 21, CNN sent photographer David McNeese to capture the story from above: Hide Caption 1 of 19 Photos: Photos: Destruction from above The path of destruction from above – The storm, which touched down near Newcastle, Oklahoma, spanned 1.3 miles. Some areas along the path were completely flattened. Hide Caption 2 of 19 Photos: Photos: Destruction from above The path of destruction from above – Officials from the National Weather Service gave the tornado that hit Moore, Oklahoma, on May 20 a preliminary EF5 rating -- the highest score on the scale that measures tornado intensities. Hide Caption 3 of 19 Photos: Photos: Destruction from above The path of destruction from above – The tornado tore through the Oklahoma City suburbs, hitting the town of Moore the hardest. It packed winds that topped 200 mph. Hide Caption 4 of 19 Photos: Photos: Destruction from above The path of destruction from above – A search-and-rescue effort to find survivors shifted Tuesday to one of recovery, officials said. Hide Caption 5 of 19 Photos: Photos: Destruction from above The path of destruction from above – The devastation in Moore was so complete that the mayor said city officials were racing to print new street signs to help guide rescuers and residents through a suddenly twisted and unfamiliar landscape. Hide Caption 6 of 19 Photos: Photos: Destruction from above The path of destruction from above – A group of homes was reduced to rubble. Hide Caption 7 of 19 Photos: Photos: Destruction from above The path of destruction from above – Debris from homes and structures was strewn for miles around. Hide Caption 8 of 19 Photos: Photos: Destruction from above The path of destruction from above – In some areas, the homes of an entire street were destroyed. Hide Caption 9 of 19 Photos: Photos: Destruction from above The path of destruction from above – Rescuers and first responders immediately began searching through the rubble of structures on May 20. Hide Caption 10 of 19 Photos: Photos: Destruction from above The path of destruction from above – Large trees were uprooted and flattened. Hide Caption 11 of 19 Photos: Photos: Destruction from above The path of destruction from above – Given its breadth and power, the tornado ranks among some of the strongest storms ever to strike the United States, CNN senior meteorologist Dave Hennen said. Hide Caption 12 of 19 Photos: Photos: Destruction from above The path of destruction from above – Homes in some areas were relatively undamaged while others very nearby were destroyed. Hide Caption 13 of 19 Photos: Photos: Destruction from above The path of destruction from above – Police, firefighters, volunteers and nearly 180 National Guard troops joined forces Tuesday in searching the rubble and securing areas hit by the storm. Hide Caption 14 of 19 Photos: Photos: Destruction from above The path of destruction from above – In 1999 and then again in 2003, Moore took direct hits from tornadoes that took eerily similar paths to 2013's twister. The 1999 storm packed the strongest wind speeds in history, Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb said. Hide Caption 15 of 19 Photos: Photos: Destruction from above The path of destruction from above – A section of a bridge outside of Oklahoma City was blown off its foundation. Hide Caption 16 of 19 Photos: Photos: Destruction from above The path of destruction from above – The path of the tornado is clearly visible with dirt and debris painting a wide path across the Oklahoma landscape. Hide Caption 17 of 19 Photos: Photos: Destruction from above The path of destruction from above – 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. Hide Caption 18 of 19 Photos: Photos: Destruction from above The path of destruction from above – View more galleries: Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area and The devastating Oklahoma tornado of 1999 Hide Caption 19 of 19 
 
 "We feel like we have basically gone from rescue and searching to recovery," Lewis said. 
 
 -- Mick Cornett, Oklahoma City mayor, said full electric service should be restored to the Draper Water Treatment Plant on Tuesday. Customers should eventually notice normal water pressure, he said. The storm knocked out power to the plant and authorities put the facility on generator power. 
 
 -- Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano will travel to Oklahoma on Wednesday to meet with state and local officials and "ensure that first responders are receiving the assistance they need in ongoing response and recovery efforts to the severe weather that impacted the region, " DHS announced. Napolitano also will travel to Joplin for the second anniversary of the devastating tornado that struck that community. 
 
 -- Kevin Durant, star of the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder, pledged $1 million through his family foundation to American Red Cross disaster relief efforts in Oklahoma, the Red Cross said Tuesday. 
 
 -- The tornado tore through a 17-mile path, the National Weather Service said. The agency said survey crews indicated that the twister began 4.4 miles west of the city of Newcastle and ended 4.8 miles east of the city of Moore. 
 
 -- At least 237 people were injured, the state's Office of Emergency Management said Tuesday, citing the Health Department. 
 
 -- Oklahoma officials revised the death toll to 24, down from 51. Nine of the fatalities are children. 
 
 -- One of those is Janae Hornsby, who was among those killed at Plaza Woods Elementary School, her father told CNN's Anderson Cooper. "She was the best kid anybody could have. She was Janae," Joshua Hornsby said. "She was a ball of energy, a ball of love." 
 
 -- State Rep. Mark McBride, a Republican, said he and his family have endured tornadoes for decades but "this is the worst thing" he's ever seen. 
 
 -- President Barack Obama said he doesn't yet know the "full extent" of the damage. "We don't know both the human and economic losses that may have occurred," he said Tuesday. "Oklahoma needs to get everything it needs right away" to recover, he said. 
 
 -- New York's governor expressed his sympathy for Oklahomans in the aftermath of the "horrific tornado." "Here in New York we know firsthand the devastation and pain caused by natural disasters, and in difficult times like these we, more than ever, stand with our fellow Americans," Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday. 
 
 -- The storm system behind Monday's twister and several on Sunday is threatening a large swath of the United States on Tuesday, putting 53 million people at risk of severe weather. In the bull's-eye Tuesday are parts of north-central Texas, southeastern Oklahoma, and northern Arkansas and Louisiana, according to the National Weather Service. 
 
 -- Oklahoma first and foremost needs donations to rebuild, Fallin told CNN. 
 
 -- About 34,000 customers remained without power Tuesday night after a powerful tornado slammed the Oklahoma City region 
 
 Photos: Photos: Tornadoes strike Midwest Photos: Photos: Tornadoes strike Midwest Tornadoes wreak havoc in Midwest – 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. Hide Caption 1 of 18 Photos: Photos: Tornadoes strike Midwest Tornadoes wreak havoc in Midwest – 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. Hide Caption 2 of 18 Photos: Photos: Tornadoes strike Midwest Tornadoes wreak havoc in Midwest – A deadly tornado destroys cars and demolishes structures in the town of Moore, near Oklahoma City, on Monday, May 20. Hide Caption 3 of 18 Photos: Photos: Tornadoes strike Midwest Tornadoes wreak havoc in Midwest – A volunteer helps clean up a mobile home on May 20 after it was overturned on a day earlier near Shawnee, Oklahoma. Hide Caption 4 of 18 Photos: Photos: Tornadoes strike Midwest Tornadoes wreak havoc in Midwest – Jean McAdams' mobile home near Shawnee, Oklahoma, lies overturned on May 20. Hide Caption 5 of 18 Photos: Photos: Tornadoes strike Midwest Tornadoes wreak havoc in Midwest – 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. Hide Caption 6 of 18 Photos: Photos: Tornadoes strike Midwest Tornadoes wreak havoc in Midwest – Tom and Ronda Clark get help with cleanup on May 20, after their property near Shawnee was damaged by a tornado on May 19. Hide Caption 7 of 18 Photos: Photos: Tornadoes strike Midwest Tornadoes wreak havoc in Midwest – Lonnie Langston says his garage was swept off the concrete pad next to his house by a tornado near Shawnee. Hide Caption 8 of 18 Photos: Photos: Tornadoes strike Midwest Tornadoes wreak havoc in Midwest – Shawnee residents embrace on May 20 as they search through the remains of their home. Hide Caption 9 of 18 Photos: Photos: Tornadoes strike Midwest Tornadoes wreak havoc in Midwest – A home in Shawnee sits in ruin after being hit by a tornado on Sunday, May 19. Hide Caption 10 of 18 Photos: Photos: Tornadoes strike Midwest Tornadoes wreak havoc in Midwest – A twister stretches toward the ground near South Haven, Kansas, on May 19. Hide Caption 11 of 18 Photos: Photos: Tornadoes strike Midwest Tornadoes wreak havoc in Midwest – Residents repair the roof of a neighbor's damaged house after a tree fell on it in Shawnee on May 19. Hide Caption 12 of 18 Photos: Photos: Tornadoes strike Midwest Tornadoes wreak havoc in Midwest – A woman waits to be allowed back to her home after a tornado swept through Shawnee on May 19. Hide Caption 13 of 18 Photos: Photos: Tornadoes strike Midwest Tornadoes wreak havoc in Midwest – Storm chaser and videographer Brad Mack records a tornado touchdown in South Haven, Kansas, on May 19. Hide Caption 14 of 18 Photos: Photos: Tornadoes strike Midwest Tornadoes wreak havoc in Midwest – 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. Hide Caption 15 of 18 Photos: Photos: Tornadoes strike Midwest Tornadoes wreak havoc in Midwest – A tornado touches down near Wichita, Kansas, on Sunday, May 19. Hide Caption 16 of 18 Photos: Photos: Tornadoes strike Midwest Tornadoes wreak havoc in Midwest – 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. Hide Caption 17 of 18 Photos: Photos: Tornadoes strike Midwest Tornadoes wreak havoc in Midwest – Lightning strikes in Clearwater, Kansas, on May 19. Hide Caption 18 of 18 
 
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 -- Personnel have rescued 101 people from rubble, Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management representative Terri Watkins said Tuesday morning. Watkins cited an Oklahoma Highway Patrol tally of rescues from all agencies. 
 
 -- Some of the children killed at Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, drowned in a basement area there, Oklahoma Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb told CNN on Tuesday morning. "My understanding, this school ... Plaza Towers, they had a basement. Quite frankly, don't mean to be graphic, but that's why some of the children drowned, because they were in the basement area," he said. Officials have said the storm killed at least seven children at the school. 
 
 -- Obama signed a disaster declaration Monday night, a White House statement said. The declaration means federal emergency aid will supplement local recovery efforts. 
 
 -- World leaders, including those in France, Germany, Pakistan and Spain, passed along their condolences. Britain's Queen Elizabeth II expressed her "deepest sympathies" to those affected and Pope Francis urged people to pray for families of those who've died, "especially those who lost young children." 
 
 -- The three high schools in the school district of Moore still will have graduation ceremonies on Saturday at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City, Superintendent Susan Pierce said Tuesday. 
 
 -- Otherwise, though, the city's public schools will be closed for the rest of the year, school district spokeswoman Anna Trowbridge tells CNN. The last day of school was supposed to be Thursday. 
 
 -- The superintendent of schools in Joplin, Missouri -- which was struck by a tornado in 2011 -- is expected to fly to Oklahoma on Tuesday night, said Oklahoma education department spokeswoman Sherry Fair. 
 
 Joplin's C.J. Huff is set to discuss the situation in Moore with the Oklahoma education chief Janet Baresi, on Wednesday. 
 
 -- Country singer Toby Keith said his sister's house was among those hit by Monday's tornado. "She gets to keep her stuff, but her house is not livable," Keith said. 
 
 While there's no date, lineup or location set, Keith says he's gotten "500 text messages from people all over the music world" asking about a potential benefit concert.
– As frantic search and rescue efforts continued through the night in Oklahoma, officials warned that the death toll—which has been downwardly revised to 24—from yesterday's horrific tornado was still expected to rise, CNN reports. The destruction is "the worst thing I have ever seen," a highway patrol trooper tells the Oklahoman. The latest on the devastation: The death toll includes at least seven children, who died in the Plaza Towers Elementary School, which was destroyed by a direct hit. Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb tells CNN, "Quite frankly, (I) don't mean to be graphic, but ... some of the children drowned, because they were in the basement area." First-grade teacher Becky Jo Evans desperately moved her students into a bathroom and threw herself over them as walls collapsed, a friend of Evans tells the Los Angeles Times. Evans then helped pull children from the rubble, though some may still be missing. AP photog Sue Ogrocki writes that a line of volunteers steadily pulled kids from Plaza Towers yesterday—calmly and quietly so that they might hear the cries of other trapped children. As they passed one boy along the human chain, his dad appeared and the pair were reunited. More on her account here. The New York Times has a map of the storm's path. Some 9.5 million people from Texas to Arkansas are still under threat of "large and devastating" tornadoes, according to a Weather Channel forecast picked up by MSNBC. Want to help? The Red Cross has ways to give. President Obama is expected to give a statement at 10am Eastern, reports Politico. He's already "offered to do anything he can to speed up our federal assistance," Gov. Mary Fallin tells MSNBC. Click for more on the disaster.