Oklahoma Tornado Toll Expected To Top 100 (Photos, Video)

AFP, AP, CNN, NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE, NEWS 9, REUTERS (U.S.)

MOORE - The death toll from Monday’s mile-wide tornado in Oklahoma has risen to 91 people and is expected to keep rising. The deadly twister tore across Oklahoma City and its suburbs flattening houses, offices and elementary schools.

According to Reuters, the town of Moore had just 16 minutes of warning before it hit.

Spokeswoman for the Oklahoma City medical examiner Amy Elliott said the death toll includes 20 children, the AFP reports. Hospitals reported at least 145 people injured, 70 of them children. Oklahoma’s News 9 reports that there are still children trapped inside the debris of one of the elementary schools, with rescue crews working through the night to free them.

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin deployed 80 National Guard members to assist with rescue operations and activated extra highway patrol officers, according to the AP.

President Barack Obama declared a major disaster area in Oklahoma, ordering federal aid to the area to supplement local efforts.

The National Weather Service initially classified the storm as an EF4, the second-strongest type, with winds of 260-320 kilometers per hour. This tornado appears to be the deadliest since the one that struck Joplin, Missouri, in 2011, killing 158.

A combination of factors -- including strong winds and warm, moist air banging against dry air -- creates the thunderstorms that lead to tornadoes.

"It’s several severe thunderstorms," meteorologist at the University of Newcastle, Martin Babakhan says. "A tornado forms with the rotation of these thunderstorms. The rotations develop a tornado within the strong updraft rising air within the storm. This makes the cloud look even darker when you see it from a distance."

CNN reports that severe weather could continue sweeping across a wide swath of the United States for the coming days.

Stunning photo of the #tornado that hit Moore, OK today. #OKwx twitter.com/iamsharpe/stat…
— Ben Sharpe (@iamsharpe) May 21, 2013

EVERYTHING HERE IS GONE. #OklahomaCity #tornado twitter.com/jaygraymatters…
— Jay Gray (@jaygraymatters) May 20, 2013

You can hear and smell fractured gas lines.. #OklahomaCity #tornado twitter.com/jaygraymatters…
— Jay Gray (@jaygraymatters) May 20, 2013

SUV tangled in a tree at an Oklahoma trailer park hit by tornado Sunday (photo: @jimcantore) instagram.com/p/ZijiJxvPfE/ twitter.com/BuzzFeedNews/s…
— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) May 20, 2013

Amazing #tornado picture from Basehunters... maybe the best of today and there have been many! twitter.com/ZoomRadar/stat…
— Jeff Berardelli (@ZoomRadar) May 19, 2013

Shocking before/after picture of Plaza Towers Elementary in Moore, OK after the EF4 tornado. #OKwx twitter.com/JasonNweather/…
— Jason Nicholas (@JasonNweather) May 21, 2013

A crumpled Sheriff's car in the driveway of a home demolished. There's a glass vase sitting on top. #okwx (12:57am) twitter.com/SchambachJess/…
— Jessica Schambach (@SchambachJess) May 21, 2013

WORLDCRUNCH

Premium stories from Worldcrunch's own network of multi-lingual journalists in over 30 countries.

WORLDCRUNCH

eyes on the U.S.

United States

Oklahoma Tornado Toll Expected To Top 100 (Photos, Video)

AFP, AP, CNN, NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE, NEWS 9, REUTERS (U.S.)

Worldcrunch

According to Reuters, the town of Moore had just 16 minutes of warning before it hit.

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin deployed 80 National Guard members to assist with rescue operations and activated extra highway patrol officers, according to the AP.

President Barack Obama declared a major disaster area in Oklahoma, ordering federal aid to the area to supplement local efforts.

A combination of factors -- including strong winds and warm, moist air banging against dry air -- creates the thunderstorms that lead to tornadoes.

CNN reports that severe weather could continue sweeping across a wide swath of the United States for the coming days.

Stunning photo of the #tornado that hit Moore, OK today. #OKwx twitter.com/iamsharpe/stat…
— Ben Sharpe (@iamsharpe) May 21, 2013

EVERYTHING HERE IS GONE. #OklahomaCity #tornado twitter.com/jaygraymatters…
— Jay Gray (@jaygraymatters) May 20, 2013

You can hear and smell fractured gas lines.. #OklahomaCity #tornado twitter.com/jaygraymatters…
— Jay Gray (@jaygraymatters) May 20, 2013

SUV tangled in a tree at an Oklahoma trailer park hit by tornado Sunday (photo: @jimcantore) instagram.com/p/ZijiJxvPfE/ twitter.com/BuzzFeedNews/s…
— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) May 20, 2013

Amazing #tornado picture from Basehunters... maybe the best of today and there have been many! twitter.com/ZoomRadar/stat…
— Jeff Berardelli (@ZoomRadar) May 19, 2013

Shocking before/after picture of Plaza Towers Elementary in Moore, OK after the EF4 tornado. #OKwx twitter.com/JasonNweather/…
— Jason Nicholas (@JasonNweather) May 21, 2013

A crumpled Sheriff's car in the driveway of a home demolished. There's a glass vase sitting on top. #okwx (12:57am) twitter.com/SchambachJess/…
— Jessica Schambach (@SchambachJess) May 21, 2013

WORLDCRUNCH

Premium stories from Worldcrunch's own network of multi-lingual journalists in over 30 countries.

WORLDCRUNCH

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

FOCUS: Israel-Palestine War

ceasefire

Our Next Four Days In Gaza: Digging For The Dead, Hunting For Food, Hoping Ceasefire Sticks

With Qatar now confirming that the temporary truce will begin Friday morning, ordinary Gazans may be able to breathe for the first time since Oct. 7. But for most, the task ahead is a mix of heartbreak and the most practical tasks to survive. And there’s the question hanging over all: can the ceasefire become permanent?

Photo of Palestinians looking for their belongings in the rubble of their housein Deir al-Balah, Gaza

Palestinians look for their belongings in the rubble of their housein Deir al-Balah, Gaza

Omar Ashtawy/APA Images/ZUMA

Elias Kassem

It’s what just about everyone in Gaza has been waiting for: a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war is expected to begin Friday, bringing a respite to more than 2.3 million people who have been living under war and siege for seven straight weeks.

By the stipulations of the deal, the truce is expected to last four days, during which time Hamas will release hostages captured during their Oct. 7 assault and Israel will release Palestinian prisoners from their jails.

For the latest news & views from every corner of the world, Worldcrunch Today is the only truly international newsletter. Sign up here.

While details of the negotiations continue, ordinary Palestinians know they may only have four days before the bombs starting dropping and tanks start rolling again.

Some will continue sifting through the rubble, looking to find trapped family members, after searches were interrupted by new rounds of air attacks.

Other Gazans will try to find shelter in what they’ve been told are safer areas in the south of Palestinian enclave. Some will hurry back to inspect their homes, especially in the northern half of the strip where Israeli ground forces have battled Palestinian militants for weeks.

Ahmed Abu Radwan says he will try to return to his northern town of Beit Lahia, with the aim of resuming digging the rubble of his home in hopes of pulling the bodies of his 8-year-old son Omar.