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so an incredible situation unfolding in joplin, missouri. unfortunately, it's very reminiscent of what happened a few weeks ago in northern alabama. absolutely. to our viewers, here is the reality of it. 24 fatalities reported so far. widespread damage across the country from a tornado touching down. they don't know how many fatalities, how many injuries in all of this. people there being called the

walking wounded. as jackie said, evacuating a hospital. they set up mobile facility. missouri department of transportation is saying i-44 is closed down because of damage. and here is what we're hearing from the governor of missouri. jay nixon. he said significant law enforcement assets and the national guard are now being deployed, now being deployed. and so we're going to try to get all of those people on the ground. when you hear the national guard being deployed, chad myers, our meteorologist who is joining us by phone, you know this is big trouble. >> well, you just don't have enough people involved locally to make it all happen without bringing in people from around the state, or for that matter around the country. you need law enforcement. you need doctors. you need nurses. when you have this much destruction, that we moved through joplin, and when we get bethany, our reporter back on the line, don, i want you, because she has been driving around joplin, i want you to ask

her where literally, north or south in the city does the damage begin, because she was out of the damage and then drove and walked into it. there are people out there worrying about their loved ones. and they literally cannot get ahold of anybody in joplin right now. the cell service is overwhelmed. the law enforcement overwhelmed. just everyone trying to help everyone else. but at some point in time you have to -- at this point, at least for the next few hours, you have to help yourself. you cannot count on anyone being there pour the next few hours. help yourself. help your neighbors. get everything battened down. and literally, don't move, unless they tell you to move. i don't believe, and jackie gerris can help you out on this. i don't believe there is any more weather coming behind it. many times you can get a tornado like, this and an hour or two hours later, another big storm come us there to do more damage and blow things around that are already broken. it's one of those things take care of yourself. but now that better more equipped, larger numbers of help will be coming that way, now is

the time to take care of yourself. eventually by tomorrow morning, those assets will be there. >> hey, jackie and chad, stand by. chad, you mentioned the ireporter, bethany scuti. she is on the phone now. the lines went down for a while and we couldn't get in touch with her. these things happen when we're in a emergency situation like this. bethany, have you made your way to the hospital? >> i am standing right in front of it right now. >> okay. what are you seeing? >> it is -- it is devastated. it is still standing, but it looks like every window is blown out, debris everywhere. trees are down. cars are stacked on top of each other right at the front door. it is a mess. >> are you seeing any patients? >> i did not see patients. they have a triage. they have several triage centers set up. there are some tents set up across. i sent some pictures. i'm not sure if you got them.

i'm going to make my way back over there. they sent them to some other hospitals. i did talk to in our end who said that they lost four patients. and there is equipment around, a lot of scurrying, they're gathering things and just trying to gather up what they can. >> hey bethany, wow, listen. if that's a picture of the hospital, is this bethany's picture? or is this from -- no, okay. this is from one of our afils. that's the hospital. bethany, do me a favor. describe to our viewers what that hospital looks like, how big it, how tall it is. is there a parking structure on the side, and the damage that you're seeing. >> okay. the hospital, as i'm standing in front of it, has about seven stores on one building and on its right has another building attached to it this that has a couple more stories to it.

every window looks to be blown out there. is debris hanging out of the windows. the main entrance sign is a mess. the glass is blown out. there are just cars stacked all over in the parking lot. there are still cars parked in front as if they were going into the hospital. but they are destroyed. there is still a fountain going -- which is interesting. and as we talk there is lightning going across the sky, which is ominous to see as i'm looking at the destruction of the hospital. >> so bethany, just a little bit of feedback there. so bethany, you said obviously you're friends with some doctors and hospital staff. and you're saying that you saw an rn. you spoke the an rn. and that rn said they lost four patients? >> she did. she said that there were four patients that they lost. and there could be more that she wasn't aware of.

most people wouldn't say anything when i tried to talk to them. but she did mention that they lost four patients. >> okay. hey, bethany, don't go anywhere. our reporters are on top of it. we appreciate our ireporters here at cnn. if you have any pictures, send it to ireport@cnn.com. listen, i want to go to the person who shot those pictures. hey, rob, put those pictures back up if you can. jamie green. she is with the wichita eagle. the pictures you're looking at on the screen of the hospital. jamie, walk us through these pictures, please. >> okay, well, i'm not looking at the pictures right now. so let me get out there. they were taken -- well, let me backtrack and tell you that i am photographer for the wichita eagle. i was in joplin, missouri, shooting a wedding for a friend. my best friend and her 6-year-old daughter and i got caught in it on our way back from the wedding. so we were actually -- we were

about a quarter of a mile away from st. john's hospital. so some of the pictures that you see are of st. john's hospital, which i understand has been badly damaged. and then we wanted to get out of town pretty quickly. so we actually waited there a couple of hours, about an hour, i guess, and then we weren't sure what to do. so we were able to leave. and then i shot some photo on my way out of town. i think you might sow a couple of photos of pickup trucks with what looked like some people in the back. wasn't sure their condition, not really sure. we saw several cars without windows, driving around. and tons of power lines down. trees snapped. roofs gone. and what not. just chaos. and i've seen a lot of tornado damage. and this is pretty bad.

>> when you say people this the become of pickups, were these people in the back of the hospital or are these people on the way to the hospital? >> they were on their way to a hospital, not st. john's. i believe it's freeman hospital. i saw two different pickups trying definitely to meander in and out of traffic. and both of the pickups had what looked like to be two emergency volunteers in the back, in the bed of the truck, kind of over them, and both of the pickups had two people in the back. >> that's a picture we're looking at right now. my gosh, jamie, that's unbelievable. and you must just stand there wanting to help people and realizing there is not much you can do. >> absolutely. and, you know, but i was surprised. we were able to get in and out of traffic. pretty quickly. and those people in the truck, people were very courteous, obviously. and we were able to martha's vineyard out of their way, and,

you know, the truck kept on honking. and it looked like it was goitot them some care. >> we're going to continue to talk about these pictures. this is going so fast on twitter. i'm monitoring my twitter feed. and someone sent a message. i believe it was an official-looking message that said if there are any available medical personnel, to please head to joplin, missouri to help out. and it's going to quickly, it went down to my feed. but i want to say again here on cnn, if there are any available medical professionals, that's according to someone here on twitter, and to me it looked like an official tweet, to head to job pin, missouri to help out. also, fema is standing by, saying they're standing ready to support missouri after the tornados and the severe weather. that e-mail, and that is just crossing the wire here into cnn. it is unbelievable. we have jaime green on the phone who shot the pictures. she was working, shooting wedding photographs and got

caught up in this. also one of the storm chasers, same thing. said it sort of came up on them. and then one of our ireporters who is on the ground at the hospital, bethany scutti is saying the windows are blown out and she can't believe it. also chad myers, and much, much more as the new pictures come in. and we begin to uncover exactly what happened in joplin, missouri. and it's not good.

all right. joplin, missouri, hit by a devastating tornado. tonight it just tore through the place. a big part of the city damaged. homes are gone. there are reports of as many as 24, if not more people who have died from this storm. i want to get to jaime gren now who shot these amazing pictures and what may be one of the pictures that defines this whole storm. it is of the hospital, st. john's hospital in joplin, missouri. the windows blown out. and the place really in

shambles. jaime, when you took that picture, what were you thinking? >> well, i just wanted to document it. you know, it was kind of tough because we were dealing with our own issues, you know, at the time. it's one of the unusual times that, you know, i was living the spot news event, you know what i mean? so i was with my best friend. we had her 6-year-old daughter. and we had just gone to her cousin's wedding. so everybody, all the people, most all the people we love in the world were out there somewhere. so we were trying to desperately figure out where they were. pretty scary time. i wanted to make sure i documented what was right in front of me at that point. >> and this other picture, jaime, unbelievable. and jaime works for "the wichita eagle." she is a photographer. people who are desperately trying to get to the hospital in the back of pickup trucks. >> yeah. i actually photographed that on my way out of town in my car

with the windows down. and, you know, i shot it, and then just really kind of prayed that those people are okay, you know. i don't know. >> and as you're driving down the interstate and you're witnessing this, you can see just how powerful those winds are, or were, because you see this 18-wheeler. and there were a number of them on their sides, turned over. >> right. amazing. >> so you were six miles away. were you in the middle of this? or did you kind of just come up, there is another angle of that picture. this is freeman hospital. this is another hospital i imagined, jaime, they're trying to get people to? >> right, uh-huh. and that wasn't very far from st. john's. probably -- i don't know joplin very well. but it seemed like just a couple of miles from st. john's

hospital. to answer your question, we were actually -- did you ask if we were in the middle of the storm? >> were you in the middle of it, or did you come up just after it? >> you know, no, i think we were in the middle of it. we must have been sort of on the place that -- the place that we sought refuge was a medical office building about a quarter of a mile away from the -- from st. john's hospital. and i mean, you know, we saw power lines snapping, and i saw a huge dumpster fly through the air. i don't know if we were in the middle of it. if we weren't in the middle of it, we were pretty darn close. and we were outside hovering over a 6-year-old child who did really well, you know. >> and stand by, jaime, because don't go anywhere. i want you to walk us through. she has a number of pictures. and each one just as amazing as

the next. and you hear the voices screaming, and that's because we have people on the phone, and they're standing out in the middle of this chaos, and they're trying, i would imagine to be directed, to move people back. so that's what your hearing in the background. kathy dennis with the american red cross. on the ground in joplin, missouri now. i would imagine you have seen a lot of disasters. and talk to me about this one. how does this one rank when you look at the damage here? >> i don't think i've quite seen anything like this before in my life. this is pretty devastating. i would say probably 75% of this town is virtually gone. >> and what about -- when you talk about town, you're talking about buildings and property. what about people? what have you witnessed, kathy? >> we are on main street heading down to the red cross office right now. actually, it's been taking us at least two hours to get there. people are just walking

everywhere. they just don't know where to go. and we do have a shelter set up. and this street right here, there is nothing left on this street. it's one of the main street here is in town. >> as we look at this video from chasertv.com and talk to kathy dennis from the american red cross, what do people watching this need to know about the folks in joplin? they're going to need a lot of help, right? >> we're going to need a lot of help. we're behind an ambulance right now and fire trucks from springfield, which is about an hour away. and i can see people coming from everywhere that are just here to help. i've seen helicopters. and as far as what we're going to do, we are setting up a shelter at mssu. and we're just going to try to help everybody as much as we can. >> all right. kathy dennis with the american red cross, stand by. we still have bethany scutti, our ireporter? yes? >> yes, i'm here. >> bethany, okay, bethany, listen, i want to talk to you

about the four fatalities. that's according to the rns. and then jacqui jeras, our meteorologist has questions for you. bethany scutti is an ireporter. she lives ten miles away from joplin. she rush down to the hospital. luckily she and her family are okay. she and her kids got to safety. she went to the hospital and described the scene to us, and said it's just devastating, and spoke to an rn friend who said they lost four patients because the hospital was hit, and they're having to set up triage unit. go ahead, bethany. >> yes, that rn said that they had lost four patients, two in icu, and two are in another part of the hospital. i also spoke to someone that was working in respiratory, in the hospital at the time. she said that it happened so fast that they had to just get their bearings before they could even move. and then they tried to get patients out in the halls. she was in a stairwell. and she said it was just so loud that it was just a roar.

and then they got everybody out as fast as they could. >> jacqui jeras, do you have some questions for bethany? >> yeah, can you tell us how much of the hospital saw that daniel? it looks like a lot of damage on top. i mean, are there rooms exposed? i've heard of chunks of the building which have been removed from the tornado. what is the building like? is it still stable? >> i would say it is not stable. it is hard to see the lower floors. the flors that are higher are just absolutely devastated. the windows are blown out there. is debris hanging outside of the windows. part of the roof, or the whole top is missing. i'm standing behind the hospital. and cinder block walls, brick walls are just crumbled. >> describe what your drive was like. you're ten miles north of the city. what was your drive like, and what did you encounter as you entered the devastated areas? >> as i was driving in, it was

raining for me. -- on the north side of town. i drove south to get towards the hospital. and as i got closer into maybe seventh street and downtown joplin, seventh street and main, i started seeing some debris on the roads. the streets started to get very congested. they were blocking the roads to let emergency vehicles through. when i realized i couldn't get through there, i turned to go down a side street. i tried to go down a street which had a lot of devastation. seeing trees all over, huge trees laying across the road, laying across houses, parts of the street torn up. there were power lines down. there were people just wandering up and down the street. some of them -- i saw a mother and two and two children walking down the street. i can imagine that maybe they had lost their home and they were just walking around. but then i also saw people walking around trying to help.

i saw people walking around who were trying to help. people walking down the street and trucks on the side of the road. asking if anybody could use help. and as i got closer and closer it was just so much destruction. at one point i looked out and there was a house completely engulfed in flames. i could see the smoke from a distance and trying to see where it was coming from and then i could see it was from a house completely engulfed in flames all around it. just complete devastation. >> hey, jacqui and bethany, stand by, please. >> okay. >> it's just -- it's devastating to hear what bethany is reporting from the ground, and i have to say this, because this is an emergency situation, and i said that through social media that i had seen someone tweeting about help there. another one is coming through for nurses or doctors looking to

help in joplin, missouri. there's a phone number to call, and they are asking you to call the greater ozarks of the red cross, the greater ozarks of the red cross, and then they're asking for any medical personnel who's in the area to come to the area to help out. of course, they want you to be safe. so listen, that's the information. i want to -- chad myers, after this break. i'm also hearing from people saying i want some analysis from chad and jacqui about what's going on and what's causing all of these crazy weather systems, these devastating storms to just come through and do so much damage. we'll be back here in a moment with breaking news here on cnn. the pictures are incredible. the stories are even more incredible of survival and of just living through this tornado that ripped through joplin, missouri. we're back in a moment.

yes, it is. the north end. 71. that's where we want to get. >> all right. the breaking news here on cnn. you can see it. it is that tornado that slammed into joplin, missouri, taking lives with it. we don't know how many, but we hear there are dozens.

there are dozens of reports of -- reports of dozens of fatalities. homes that are completely gone. businesses leveled. and one of the most devastating instances, the hospital. the st. john's hospital in joplin. it is crippled. they're having to evacuate the hospital and set up a mobile triage unit. jaime green with "the wichita eagle" took these pictures of the hospital as she was caught in the middle of this storm. and then our i reporter bethany scutti is at the hospital and is reporting on what's going on there. she said it is devastating. they have never seen anything like it. we had a representative from the american red cross join us just a short time ago saying that they were going to need all the

help that they can get. and of course there are calls. they are asking any medical professionals in the area if you can make your way safely to the joplin, missouri area to come and help the people out there. they are also asking for -- there are calls for red cross volunteers to come out and help as well. chad myers, before we went to the break, people are asking for analysis, and they want to hear from the authorities here. they want to hear from you. what is going on that is causing all of this? >> well, don, the last time we had an outbreak like this, even the one in alabama the last couple weeks, was 1974. so it has been a very long time since we've seen big cities get hit by such big tornadoes. those big tornadoes are out there every year. they are there. there are f-4s. there are ef-5s every year out there. most of the time they just get range planned. places that don't have a lot of

towns. we don't report on them. people are still injured and it's one and two. when you get tornadoes like we've seen, the size that we've seen, rolling through metropolises, rolling through cities, where there is video, it becomes a big story. this year we've had a colder than normal air outbreak arrive to the south, bumping into warm air. the warm air is always in the south. now, warm air doesn't necessarily cause more tornadoes. there aren't tornadoes in the tropics. warm air doesn't come from the south. look at all the humidity and the heat. look at down in barbados. doesn't happen, small little things and warm air from the north clashes with the warm air that thinks it's already springtime. hey, i'm spring. we should be warm.

the cold air comes down with a cold front, with an upper-level system that comes out of the northwest, and it pushes this warm air up. and when warm air rises, you get bubbling. it's the same bubbling that you feel in an aircraft when you're flying across the country. you have rising motion, rising currents. and when you get a cold front to push that rising air higher and higher into the sky, you can get violent tornadoes. and that's ha happened this year. we're not really at a record pace for tornadoes. overall january, february, march weren't really that active. but it has really picked up when this cold air that has tried to push farther to the south a little later in the season than usual. even some planting across the midwest has been delayed because the weather simply just isn't warm enough. it has been a very cool spring in some spots. that cold air clashes with the warm that's already across the south. the south is warm all spring long. and when that happens, you get conditions like we had in alabama a couple weeks ago, and you get conditions today that extend all the way from texas. and earlier today you were on the air with it. we had tornadoes in hennepin county, which is basically, minneapolis's, minnesota. and that is, what -- that would be 1,000 to 1,500 miles away from where this tornado was tonight.

>> chad myers, stand by. jacqui jeras, stand by. our ireporters and the photographers who were there on the scene and shot these pictures, and we're so grateful that you -- you that sent them here into cnn and that you're joining us. here's what i want to say. the governor of missouri, jay nixon, activated the missouri national guard in response to the tornadoes and the severe weather that moved through the state earlier this evening. there is, there is a statement from senator roy blunt. let me read it in part here. just coming across the wire. roy blunt says our thoughts and prayers go out to the families impacted by this devastating tornado in joplin. while local officials are still assessing the extent of the damages, i am deeply saddened by the tragic reports of loss of life and extensive zrix resulting from this storm. my staff and i will continue to monitor the situation closely and urge everyone to use extra precautions in the region. the first of the statements that

come out. you can expect much, much more, especially from the federal government. and you can probably -- i would very assuredly say a disaster area and probably a federal disaster will be declared as well here. we're going to have more on the other side of the break. as many as 24, probably more people have died in this devastating tornado that hit joplin, missouri.

breaking news. i want to tell viewers that a tornado has ripped through joplin, missouri and taken out a big chunk of the town, if not most of it. the pictures are incredible.

we're getting reports of 24 people for now who have been killed, and there could be many more. i want to take a look at the pictures now from jaime green. she is with the "wichita eagle." and she shot the pictures of the hospital. that's the hospital right there. one of the pictures that she shot was of a truck, an 18-wheeler on its side, and the reason i say that is because michael ratliff, who is a storm chaser, is on the line with us and helped us to rescue a truck driver, so he saw this scene play out where he had to help rescue someone. tell us what happened and how is the person who you helped rescue? >> well, it happened -- you know, the tornado was wrapped when it went through town. it crossed the i-44 interstate,

which is a very busy interstate for truckers. when we came on the scene just seconds after the tornado crossed the highway, there was multiple semis, at least seven to ten, that were turned over and on their side. ran up to the truck. it was on its side. the window was halfway busted out. we busted out the window. there was a driver inside. he was bleeding from his head. had a severe laceration on his elbow, at least down to the bone. once we got him and his pets, we were trying to find the nearest hospital. and as you all know, the main hospital for joplin, which is several stories tall-s missing part of those stories. so it was just mass chaos in town and trying to navigate through traffic and the debris, and finally got to the hospital. he was actually one of the last people they were accepting. the hospital was full. i mean, they are just overwhelmed. they set up several triage centers throughout the town. it's devastation. it's alabama all over again. >> and michael, stand by because i want to hear more of your

story. you said the top of the hospital, gone. big chunk of it. we heard reports of x-rays showing up miles away. and according to one of our ireporters, an rn had told her that four people had died in the hospital. we have a storm chaser on the line. we have people who have taken pictures who were caught in the middle of it. don't go anywhere.

breaking news on cnn.

joplin, missouri devastated by a very powerful tornado that went through. we don't know how big it was. let's show a new picture that we have from someone who is actually in the middle of this tornado. her name is ashley sandbop. she was in the walmart when it happened, and she took this picture. there you go. if that doesn't describe how powerful this system is and what the people are going through in this area, i don't know what does. let's leave this picture up. and we'll tell you that ashley is okay. we're glad. but we don't know how many people were in that walmart and other businesses, how many people were hurt and how many people have actually been killed from this. and to get more information now

is the governor of missouri. jay nixon joins us by phone. a state of emergency. you have deployed the national guard. please tell the country what the people of joplin are dealing with. >> well, first of all, it's total devastation with the hospital down, the high school down, other areas. the bottom line is we declared a state of emergency. we've ordered the activation, we have guardsmen, boots on the ground there now. we've also brought in for a search for survivors, and with the number of buildings that are down, we've brought in task force one. this was a group out of columbia, missouri that helped in 9/11 to search for survivors and has worked throughout the world. we want to make sure that if there are folks that are injured but covered that as the night gets dark that we're out there making sure we can get as many survivors as possible. >> okay. so you don't know the number. and as i'm talking to you, governor, i'm going through, i just have a friend who's from that area. his name is steve ellis, and he just e-mailed me, saying my relatives are in joplin, we cannot reach them, please call me, friend, we need your help. and a lot of people are dealing with a very similar situation, governor. we're hearing reports of 24 deaths in joplin. do you have any official count? i know it's going to -- it's going to fluctuate. but what are you hearing? >> we don't have an official

count, but there will be -- we have confirmation of a number of deaths and the numbers appear to be rising. also dealing with communications, i dispachtd a few hours ago our highway patrol mobile communications vehicle to joplin. so we've got solid communication among first responders down there. the cell phones may not work. other areas may not work. but we're working hard to make sure with the highway patrol, with the local law enforcement, with the national guard, we have communication for the emergency responders down there. we have a shelter set up at missouri southern with the help of our faith-based partners in the red cross and others. the bottom line is that we are responding aggressively, quickly. we wanted to just make sure as the night goes on that we're saving lives between now and dawn. >> governor, by a number of people who have come on our air, they're describing the people there as the walking wounded and just saying they're walking around devastated. and who could believe that this would happen to them?

>> a sunday evening. it's a devastating storm. especially hitting a hospital. the other hospital has been very, very helpful but we're bringing in medical resources from springfield and other parts of the state. the important thing is that if people are injured that there are places for them. we've got folks there. they can get to that shelter, which can provide help, provide that assistance. the bottom line is that we are actively involved in search and rescue now. we want to make sure we save as many lives as people tonight. if people are injured -- >> governor. >> yes. >> having a little trouble hearing you. but what i want to ask you real quickly here, i have seen reports of calls going out asking for medical professionals in the area and also red cross volunteers. is that so? >> yes. but we have a number of medical folks coming in from springfield and other areas, coming right in there to back it up. the triage system is working. there are a number of injuries. it's going to be a long night and a difficult recovery. >> and you've heard it for yourself from governor jay nixon of missouri. he has deployed the national guard. and it is a state of emergency in missouri tonight. :20011231][v

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all right. joplin, missouri will never be the same again. it is different. the map will change there because of this tornado that whipped through earlier this evening and caught a lot of people off guard. one person caught up in the middle of it was jaime green. she shot some photos with us. she's with the "wichita eagle." but also her video is on kansas.com. she's on the phone. roll the video and then we'll talk to her. >> kind of scared. >> jaime green, it's dark. you see the skies lighting up.

was this before or after? did it become -- was it dark when it happened and then it got lighter, or did you take this after the initial pictures? >> i took this way before i shot any of the devastation. this was i believe when the tornado was about to happen. and then my friend was like behind me in another car, and she's from kansas and she says that you should never stay in a car during a tornado. so we didn't really have many options. so we got out of the car shortly after i shot that. and we huddled down. it was my friend and i and her 6-year-old daughter. we huddled down over her daughter out in the elements but up against a wall, up against an office building. our only other option would have been to throw a bench through the glass window which we actually thought of, but we didn't. we decided not to. so that was -- again, that video was taken maybe a minute or two before the tornado.

>> unbelievable. let's get those pictures back up now that jaime green took because they are just unbelievable. and the one that strikes me, the hospital one. but there's another one with people. this one is going to personify at least in part the storm when you look at this hospital. i mean, obviously, you can see that the windows are blown out. but this is the one that gets me. the people in the back of the pickup truck. meteorologist jacqui jeras, this has to tug at your heart. and you see how desperate people are. help me talk to jaime green on the phone about this now. >> yeah, it really does tug at your heart, don. you know, there's been a lot of video online as well. and we've talked with radio reporters as well as tv reporters who have been really overcome in this situation. in fact, i saw one person break down and cry on national television. that's just how devastating the situation is. this is a large part of a very populated area. joplin, missouri. as much as 175,000 people live in the city and the surrounding suburb areas.

and this is definitely a life-changing event for the people that live there. a lot of lives have been lost. you know, those numbers are questionable as to how many. we've heard as many as 24 and, unfortunately, those are going to continue to go up. you know, people are trapped in their homes. the hospital has been impacted. and people are having to go to a different hospital. and triages are being set up. so this large-scale search and rescue is taking place. we heard from the governor, you know, talking about bringing in the special task force to help find these people. and they're trying to get in additional medical help as well. so just it's hard to put into words. it really is. >> yeah. it's devastating. jacqui, stand by. i just want to tell you just how this just breaks your heart. i have a friend whose grandmother is there. he's been e-mailing me. he said, "my aunt is 82 years old, don. she's very near st. john's hospital.

no one to reach anyone. no one has been able to reach anyone. her name is betty schrader at 2904 ohio. if you have an on-the-ground contact, please check on her. i'm very distressed." so stephen was able to send that to me just because he knows me but i imagine that's a lot -- a lot of that is going on among people who live there. >> hey, don -- >> people checking on their neighbors -- yeah, go ahead, jacqui. >> watching twitter, and red cross is tweeting on their website right now that people can help find others and let them know that they're okay via the web. so that's one resource. and there are also lists of shelters where people will be able to get some help as well there. >> thanks, jacqui. don't go anywhere. more after the break, everyone.

all right. breaking news out of missouri. a tornado has gone through and really ripped up the place, and st. john's hospital at the center of this. joining us now is bethany scutti, our ireporter. bethany, sum it up real quickly for us right now, what you're seeing. >> i see st. john's hospital. they are breaking down the triage center. they are taking the patients to other facilities. they are loading up whatever supplies they can to help out and give them to the patients in need. >> mm-hmm. and you're seeing bandages and all that? >> bandages, crutches,

wheelchairs, bins of water and juice, trying to get them to the patients that they need. >> and jaime green, who shot these pictures in the video. when you look, can you believe you survived it? >> no. it's pretty hard to believe. feeling pretty lucky right now. and feeling pretty bad for everyone else. i know it's going to be just a tragedy. >> yeah. jacqui, you got -- you've got ten seconds for me to talk about this? >> i just wanted to ask bethany real quick if she can give us an idea of what percentage of the town has been affected. i've heard as much as 75%, one woman we had on our air i think from the red cross. can you tell us how much? >> wow. i wish i knew. i have not heard that. i know the south side of joplin is looking really bad. >> i also heard about the gas leak at the hospital -- >> jacqui, we've got to run. we only have a few seconds on the air. i wish we had more. so listen, thank you very much for joining us tonight. make sure you tune in to