Deadly Tornado Tears Through Oklahoma City Suburb

After a series of tornadoes blew through the Midwest over the weekend, Monday produced what appeared to be one of worst tornadoes in American history, cutting a 20-mile path through Oklahoma, pulverizing entire neighborhoods and leaving at least 24 dead and more than 100 injured.

Particularly hard hit was the town of Moore, population 41,000, where the swath of destruction was up to a mile wide; in all, a major hospital and two elementary schools were laid to waste with children and teachers inside. While only seven students have been confirmed dead, officials said they believe this number will grow as rescue workers continue to excavate the site.

“The storm moved so fast,” Moore police Sgt. Jeremy Lewis told Fox News, estimating that officials only had 15 minutes from when the tornado formed to when it hit one of the schools. “The school locked down and did the best it could.”

In many cases, Oklahoma City Police Sgt. Jennifer Wardlow reported, the level of destruction is so complete that crews working on a number of sites have no evidence of street signs or house numbers or any other landmarks to guide them.

“It’s just a process of going house to house,” she said, according to the Washington Post. “These are entire neighborhoods gone – just wiped clean.”

More than 80 National Guard members as well as extra Highway Patrol officers were called in to assist with the rescue efforts, according to the Los Angeles Times.

In a speech to the nation regarding the event, President Barack Obama stated simply that “Oklahoma needs to get everything that it needs, right away,” adding that the country will stand by the people of Moore for “as long as it takes.”

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin described the predominant feeling in her state in an interview with NBC saying, “Our hearts are broken. This is bigger than anything I’ve ever seen. It’s absolutely huge. It’s horrific.”