>> i just lost, lost everything. >> lost everything. a lot 06 people can say that tontd. that does it for us. cnn will be live all night long. the latest on the devastating storm, our latest continues now. >> good evening, everyone. i'm erin burnett. out front tonight, we have breaking news. at least 51 people are dead after a massive tornado toured through oklahoma city earlier today. among the dead, as we can tell you live at this hour, are at least 20 children. state chief medical examiner says those numbers are expected to rise in this traj ji. at least 145 people have been hospitalized, as well. you're looking at pictures of what it looked like after the two-mile wide tornado with wind

just struck this suburb of oklahoma city. flattening two schools now gone. the governor said it's a horrible day for her state. >> and right now, we're going to do everything as we can as a state to get as much emergency personnel, state agencies, all the different charities that are out in doing search and rescue efforts. trying to make sure that we'll look under every single piece of debris and building along the roads and communities to find anyone. >> now, this is all that is left tonight at the plaza towers elementary school. now, we can tell you at this hour, at least seven students there were killed. 24 are missing. now, it is under darkness in oklahoma.

kfor was reporting 75 students in that school. there was staff inside the school when the storm hit. a reporter from that station will be with us later this hour describing the scene. >> they were found at the bottom of the school in a pool of water, standing water. all of them have drowned. it's likely that tlr 20-30 -- >> i get a little choked up. there are 20-30 more little victims there. children. so that search and rescue mission has now transitioned over to recovery. as dusk sets in. >> tonight, workers are coming through that rubble, obviously, as you can see with spot lights. if they can find any of those children alive, we're getting a new look at the power of this tornado.

>> george how is there tonight across from the plaza towers. >> yeah, you know, it's dark but we continue to see people coming into this area. we see firefighters, we should see sheriff's deputies, investigators still going into that area. kim, talk to us about why you're here and what you've been doing. >> i started out over at warren theater. that he eve set up a treeage station with the hospital just helping treeage. rebecca has been helped deliver supplies.

>> what's it been like for you? >> they've had food, water, anything that they need. it's safe for anybody to come in there. the bathrooms are down. jay, it's a safe place for nibble to come that needs help. >> guys, another interview right now. but, again, you're seeing a lot of people coming in to this area. still, people do want to come in and help in this neighborhood, but they're being turned away. so we are seeing those people from the neighborhood who wanted to help out being turned away. >> george, do you have any sense for them? you heard scott heinz say that this has turned into a recovery. but for those children in that

school, is there still children for those that are missing? >> you know, you never want to say on that. there are parents trying to talk to the investigators. we do know that there are relatives out here. i dwout that they're going to stop tonight. akd we can all just pray for some sort of a miracle. mayor lewis, we're all just so-sorry. these pictures are just impossible to comprehend. what are you able to watch tonight?

how many people do you think are missing? >> we have quite a few people. i want to say thank you to the media that you guys have been telling people to stay out is the best thing you can do for us right now. we have search and rescue dogs at the scene. we have been told that all of their students have been counted for. they are still working with rescue dogs to seep if there are already survivors our hopt has been devastated. it it's not occupible. my cell phone is just about out of power. >> all right, well, let me try to ask you one question before you go, then, mayor lewis. those children, what can you tell us?

i mean, how many of them are still missing? >> we don't know yet. i can't confirm how many people are missing. at this point. but we're going to continue to look. it's been a tough day. we've been through this before. we had this may 3rd, 1999. >> what we're seeing with the horrible story of this? >> yes, this is the worst. we lost six people during that tornado. and i've just been told that it's over 50 a while ago. i can't confirm that. i don't know, i hope it's not. the devastation is amidst.

most are still up and running. a couple of smalling centers. we're trying to make sure that they can finish out the school year. >> i know, i guess it's a miracle for those schools. obviously, our prayers are with those families that are waiting for those little children tonight and just hoping that they're able to find some of them alive. mayor lewis, thank you so much for your time. >> thank you for calling, appreciate it, bye, bye. >> our reporters have been saying the cell phone service can be incredibly spotty. but you heard what mayor lewis had to say. he was the mayor back in 1999 when what was the worst tornado to strike struck.

he says this is worse. i want to bring in scott heinz. i know you've covered a lot of tornadoes and know that area so well. you know what the mayor had to say. do you also think that this is the worst that you've ever seen? >> yeah, by far. this is utter destruction that you've never experienced. i think oklahoma is known as tornado alley. at least 20 children dead and more than 2030 confirmed injuries. many of those injuries, puncture injuries from debris flying through the air. we know that they treated 65 patients. and there's 45 children.

that's what makes this even more heart wrenching. >> people are walking around like zombies. i heard, it might have been our chief meteorologist. this is the worst since 1985. they were in that day care that was inside the federal building. entire neighborhoods, homings, businesses, i mean, completely levelled. at least we've had crews out. throughout the day, we had one of my cleeks first responders

with a seven-month old baby. they were trying to seek refuge in the giant freezer. they didn't make it. they didn't have time. you know,it's tough to talk about. the search and rescue, we're all staying optimistic. adult families can still be rescued. i think they're also being realistic, to a certain degree, as rescuers search for bodies. there were found in the waterer. they most likely drowned. there were anywhere from 20-30 potential counted for.

>> some have been found in area churches. so best-case scenario, that number will be decreased by a few. so we've heard stories of heroism, you know. i told you guys earlier that there is one student's account of his or her teach er who told him to hug the walls. and that there are teachers laying over their students. >> that's an amazing story. and just what you were saying about the children, i want to make sure i understand it.

originally, you thought it was 27-37 possible children that could have died. you're saying some of those children have been found. so that numb bier could be significantly lower. unfortunately, it's just for that elementary school. so right now, there's thunderstorms rolling through the area. those are just north of the tornado trap. it was just stained on if north. neighborhoods are being evacuated. they've already evacuated because, of course, they have no home.

they're completely levelled. they're setting up lights. also, this, we were just hearing, the national guard will be bringing in these special cameras detecting body heat so they can tell the difference between the body heat of a survivor as opposed to those who will perish. so that's unfolding. >> we hope that will bring some sort of a wonderful, miraculous outcome at this point. scott heinz has been reporting. as you heard the news there, some of the 20-30 children they thought may have perished. some of those children have been accounted for.

hopefully a lot of those. we will keep you updated as we get more information of those crews are working desperately. still to come, tom lamb will give us an update as he understands it right now. this is a special live edition of "out front." ♪

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[ female announcer ] from meeting customer needs... to meeting patient needs... ♪ wireless is limitless. is. welcome back to a live edition of "outfront." it's 11:18 eastern, 10:18 in oklahoma, where crews outside

oklahoma city are digging through debris trying to find survivors in the dark. 51 people so far, we confirm 20 of them killed are children. they are still looking for survivors are tonight. the walls left there just rubble. kflr just reported that some of the children there have been reported missing, been found in area churches. a miraculous outcome for some parents. at least two miles wide. winds went up to 200 miles an hour. an estimated 300 homes can be destroyed. i want to bring in the lieutenant governor of oklahoma now. lieutenant governor, appreciate you're taking the time as i know you have so many things to do. can you tell me your latest understanding of how the search and rescue is going?

>> well, night has fallen on oklahoma, in oklahoma city. i'll put this in perspective for your viewers. more oklahoma is a suburb of oklahoma city. it's part of the greater metropolitan area. and to let you know the damage that has occurred in moore in 1999, the mayor tornado was the most devastating tornado that ever occurred on the planet as far as devastation, property damage, that was in 1999. fast forward to 2003. passed the moral dill em ma in 2003. today, the tornado was almost exactly the same path as the two tornadoes. i mentioned a 1989 fact because the most devastating tornado was never off.

today's is a greater magnitude. 85 to the trama center, roughly 60-65 of those 80 plus are children. the good news is the children who are missing have been found. i'll incleed this with the next question. the rescue and recovery will continue throughout the evening with the generator and the lights that are on right now. >> at that school and elsewhere, right? but they are still hoping to find survivors at that school, right? >> you're right. they absolutely are. now, you would think about five schools were inactive. now, i'm sure you reported it, but in case you have it, the moore hospital was also hit.

now, some of the initial reports, i know my point is some of these early injuries and those that were really damaged badly were driven to a medical center further away. so, my point is, the search and rescue will continue. this was devastated. absolutely flattened. and they removed just mountains of debris and finding any children still alive.

i hope and i pray that the kids are alive. >> what's your understanding of this area? they know they need to react. but they also know that they would feel that they knew when they needed to react. was there enough warning time? >> we really have three safeguards in oklahoma. we have shelters aboveground and below ground shelters. but not everybody was in a shelter, an adequate shelter. we also have very early warning signs, as far as tornado sirens. we were looking towards this day three and four days ago knowing that there would be a significant possibility of

large, tornadoic activity. the loss of life could have been even greater, if you can believe that, and what would be even greater would be the injuries that we've sustained. >> and, lieutenant lamb, what happens next? i mean the extent of the devastation being unprecedented. what happens next? it's going to be search and rescue until -- for as long as you can possibly have it be that. >> right. and search and rescue is going as long as we continue to find life. every time oklahoma is faced

with unprecedence, we're resilient. we're a very strong faith-based community and then rewind even before that, april 19th, 1995. the unprecedented terrorist attack in oklahoma city. we responded, we were resilient. first and foremost, our thoughts and prayers are with the victims. those that we know had lost their lives and our prayers are wir their families and we continue to fight through it and come out on top. >> lieutenant governor, thank you very much. thank you for sharing some of that good news. we can just keep hoping for more of those miracles out front. thanks again, sir. >> thank you for having me. >> well, still to come live on "outfront" tonight, we're going to go to the center.

our correspondents are on the ground. it's been very difficult. the roads and the debris, what people live there are dealing with is very difficult to comprehend. the vel phone video really gives you a sense of the proportions of that tornado. we'll be back in just a moment.

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news. a special live edition of "out front." if you're just joining us, a massive tornado has just levelled a suburb of oklahoma city. these images show the skoeb of the tornado. this was taken by a local resident on their cell phone. you can see this with the speed of which it was approaching. they were about 15 miles away. by the way, i want to emphasize to everyone it's a very fluid situation. it's 10:30 p.m. in oklahoma city right now. there are 51 at this point dead. nearly 200,000 people were in the path of that tornado when it hit this arve noon. it was estimated to have been about two miles wide. it is unknown tonight how many people are still trapped in that rubble. we have been talking to first responders, lieutenant governor,

the mayor this hour all have said that the search will continue through the night with the fields of debris that cover these neighborhoods. national weather service has classified the tornado formally as at least an e-f-4. the search continues under flood light. some of the missing children have now been found at area churches and nearby. there are some miraculous stories tonight. and they are searching to find more children.

and hoping that all of them have survived. >> i just wanted to say, first of all, that our prayers and our thoughts are with the oklahoma families that have been hit hard by this terrible storm. these last few days. and, in particular, our hearts are just broken fr the parents that are wondering the state of the business and the facilities that have been hit hard. our families are wondering where their loved ones are. right now, we're doing everything we can as a state trying to make sure that we have looked under every single piece of debris and every single building along the roads and communities to find anyone that might be injured or might be lost from the storm storms that have hit the state of oklahoma. i want to say how much i

appreciate all the first responders, the law enforcement entities, the fire, the police, the red cross, the salvation army. we've called out the national guard. we're doing everything we can to get all of our resources out of the state. we've had offers from another organization. i even had a phone call from president obama. he's offered to do anything he can.

we have called in extra resources there out of state. we've brought in dogs. it will be dark retty soon and want to do anything we can to continue to look for those who might be lost in this tragedy. >> people are still wandering around in the darkness. what is happening right now. i know we have reported and you are seeing the search is continuing through the night? >> it's a horrifying nature. i'm literally a hundred feet from the rubble. i'm standing here and we're all

hoping and warnting that once these people start yelling, we have some of them. but it has not happened. i'm sitting right next to about 20 small stretchers that have just been lying there, unused. the sad part about this is about 40 minutes ago, the doctors and nurses started leaving. the fact is that it's not likely that any survivors will be found in this rubble. you just mentioned before that some children had to leave the churches. the number we've zefed over the last four hours, 24 children unaccounted for. we certainly know, sadly, that there will be some bad news, sadly.

can you imagine being a parent sitting here. there was a man whose 9-year-old son was missing. tlch just tears coming down his face. so there really is nothing level. you can't tell where the neighbors houses were and the school was. erin? >> just talk about that father and how full of grace he was in dealing with what might be horrible news. how were some of the other parents and the image you gave of them having to sit on stools in the mud. >> yeah, you know, i honestly felt, as a parent, we offered that any of us go through something like this.

obviously, you can't do any good. there's 30 men right there with machines that get drilled and with their actions. and, you know, it's -- i'm missing one real important point. search and rescue and search and recovery. they're never going to give up looking for survivors. they're obviously using machines right now to clear rubble to get to where children might be. but they're still looking for people. >> gary's reporting gives all of us a sense of the true who w horror that is happening tobt. this storm who we've heard from the mayor is unprecedented in terms of the damage it

wreaked. the mayor said he was the mayor back then and it matches what you were telling me earlier tonight. how is it that this storm is so much worse, it technically wouldn't have been as powerful. >> right now, it's the width. it's how many blocks of homes it took out at the same time. we're talking about with this storm, at least, at a time, this was making a debris path of two miles wide as it was bowling its way through the town of moore. let me show you what the people of moore have been through.

the yellow line right here, about 2 miles long. the tornado was on the ground 15 minutes later. the problem was 8 minutes after that, and this was an ef-3 or 4 fornay doe. it was a monster. is go ahead, john, we'll fly you in and take you right on down. there's the track and there's the track of this one, from 199 to 2013. and up there in the blue is 2003. kind of a cross section right through here over the canadian river. you'll see the turnpike right there. the storm turned to the right.

but over the two towns and right smack into all of those buildings right there having some type of damage. and then you look there, there's the blue line. that's what happened in 2003. that was an ef-3 to an ef-4. three storms in 14 years. >> congressman cole had indicated earlier that they were told in 1999 that this was a once in 400 year event. and then, here we are, a 2003 storm. so are they happening with a greater frequency than one would expect? and why would it seem to be always on the same track. is that just chance? >> i believe it's just chance. there is a canadian river in the picture. there is kind of a low-land area going on.

this is tornado alley. they get tornadoes every year. this town has just had a tar get on its back way too many times. the loss of this one rivaling any stompl it has ever seen. >> you just heard chad talking about why this storm was so much more powerful. steven morris is in oklahoma county. what are the difficulties? it's difficult to get around at all on the roads with your vehicles to try to get to people where you need that? >> it's true. we're actually in shawnee, this afternoon.

most of the evening, trying to get through traffic. it is tough to get around. this is incredible devastation. >> and what kind of support have you been able sto offer so far? >> we're blessed to have people on the grournd, frankly. so we've deployed three feeding canteens already today. and there will be another three from out lying areas. we really put everybody on alert on sunday in oklahoma and arkansas. prepare to respond. obviously, we had no idea it would be to this magnitude. first, do first responders. you know, those that are doing the search and rescue. they can't run away to fast food. so we're there to help them. to hydrate them and to be

supportive of everything. >> thank you, we're grateful to you. thank you for taking the time to share what you know with us. >> we're blessed to be able to serve. thank you for having us on. >> thank you, sir. still to come, he represents oklahoma city. some new information. his update will be live when we return. [ man ] on december 17, 1903, the wright brothers became the first in flight. [ goodall ] i think the most amazing thing is how like us these chimpanzees are. [ laughing ] [ woman ] can you hear me? and you hear your voice? oh, it's exciting! [ man ] touchdown confirmed. we're safe on mars. [ cheers and applause ] ♪

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here live tonight, breaking news from oklahoma. the suburb of oklahoma city where 51 people are confirmed dead after a massive tornado tore through that area. congressman is out front, joins me now live on the phone. congressman, i know you've been getting briefed. what is the very latest that you can tell us? >> i wish i could give you any additional information.

the search is going to continue tonight. they are experts at going through rubble and debris. this is what they train for, actually, a as to be able to go into search and rescues like this. wo eel continue to search all night long. >> and i know the president has obviously signed the state of emergency. make sure that there will be federal funds available. confident you're going to get all the help you need from the federal government? >> oh, i am. there's no question with that. we have, from the fwining, the national weather service is based in oklahoma city, as well. and so for the national weather service to be on the ground in norman, oklahoma, is an incredible help to us. so even before the storm came, we had federal connection with what happened there. and then, president obama and the governor have already spoken. i'm confident they'll be able to continue connection with fema.

>>. >> thank you very much, congressman. weapon hope that your city gets some good news. there are a lot of children waiting to reconnect. there are a lot of people that don't have electricity or a car and don't have a way to find each other. >> congressman, thank you very much. congressman langford talks about children looking for parents. we're going to shair with you some of the witnesses to that devastation saw today in oklahoma. we'll be back live in a moment. [ female announcer ] from more efficient payments. ♪ to more efficient pick-ups. ♪ wireless is limitless. ♪ she's always been able it's just her way.day.

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to meeting patient needs... ♪ wireless is limitless. as one witness said today rngs most people watch tragedies like this on television. many in moore, oklahoma tonight are in shock. they are looking for loved ones, their homes, their belongings are gone. many don't know what to do next. they don't know whether to sleep tonight or where they'll sleep in the days to come. and, tonight, they're there. >> they said it was coming.

so what do we do? do we have time to get in the vehicle and run it? or do we just hunker down? so we grabbed our motorcycle helmets and prayed. and luckily, the only room that we were spared was the room that we were in. >> it sounds like a freight train coming through. >> i tried to loosen three other stalls so they'd have a chance. i didn't have very long at all. they clashed over on top of me and they sat a pick-up truck on top of it. they pushed it down here. and, you know, it's just unbearable bli loud. you can see stuff flying everywhere. >> one of them has been found. she's in the hospital. i don't know if her conditions are right now.

also, my sister is missing. >> as soon as i walked through the building, i was a little hysterical. i was running through the building barefoot. there's very many people that are left without houses, their cars, everything is gone in an instant. everything is gone. you can hear everything coming across bricks. once it ended, we got out. my car is gone. it's nowhere to be found. there's an angel that brought me home. when i got home, i realized that there's nothing left of my house. the front is still standing.

but the back is gone. my bathroom, honestly, is untouched. we've lost animals, we lost everything. >> there was like a big tornado in the whole place. >> and that kield, of courschilf all of those children that we hope will be safe and sound tonight as the search continues in that elementary school where so many are right now unaccounted for. thank you for joining us. our continuing live coverage continues 56 this break with piers morgan. lets get the ball rolling. in communities like chicago we're coming together with the city and military veterans for the coca cola foundation's troops for fitness. an innovative program that's inspiring hundreds of people. with fun ways to move a little more. stay active and to see how good a little balance can feel.

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at this moment stands at 51. we'll be back one hour from now, and did the breaking news is tragic. mass of tornado slammed into the oklahoma city suburb of moore. at least 51 people, 20 confirmed to have been children. 145 others in hospitals and the death toll expected to rise. search and rescue mission going onou