them awake with thunder and lightning as they're trying to rescue some of these people still alive. >> absolutely horrendous. thank you very much. stay with cnn all night long for live coverage >> unbearably loud. you could see stuff flying everywhere. just about like on the movie "twister." >> historic, deadly, a massive tornado, some two miles wide. flattening a city in oklahoma city, oklahoma. more than 50 are confirmed dead. the number is rising. many were children taking shelter in an elementary school where a search is going on at this very hour. >> it is heartbreaking. to know we still have kids over there that is possibly alive. >> our viewers in the united

states and around the world for live breaking news coverage of the devastating tornado in oklahoma. >> coming up this hour, we have right now it is midnight in oklahoma. you are now looking at pictures. the search, the rescue, and it is the somber recovery that is going on all night long in moore, oklahoma. it has now been nine hours since disaster struck. a bull's eye of utter destruction right in the heart of tornado alley. so many people in oklahoma have lost so much, specifically, oklahoma city any southern suburb of moore where the ef-4 possibly, ef-5 tornado cut a path 20 miles long and two miles wide. that ef scale its the measure meteorologists use. now we can also just count the human toll. the official death toll is 51. but has been steadily rising.

we just received word that 40 more body are being taken to the oklahoma medical examiner's office. that would bring the number of deaths to 91 if those numbers are all right. that is so far. 20 of the deaths, children. even season reporters are having a hard time looking at the destruction. >> i have never seen anything like this in my 18 years covering tornados here in oklahoma city. this is without question, the most horrific -- i have never seen -- >> it is so hard you can hear the emotion from people covering the story, imagining what is taking place on the ground. officials say every effort is being made to find anyone who is still missing. earlier erin burnett spoke with mayor glen lewis about the search-and-rescue operations ongoing. >> we have search dogs, search-and-rescue dogs at the

scene at the school. we have just been told all students at briarwood have been accounted for. briarwood, a school that was hit. they are still working over there with rescue dogs to see if there are any survivors. our hospital has been devastated. we have -- we had a two-story hospital. now we have a one. it is not occupiable. so it made it difficult for emergency operations. they're medflighting some one right now to some one to the hospital. i may lose you because my cell phone is just about out of power. >> all right. let me try to ask you one question, mayor lewis, those children, what can you tell us about children at plaza towers, i know, i mean, how many of them are still missing? do you think any are still alive? >> we don't know yet. of course we always hope for the best. we don't know. i can't confirm how many people were even lost over there. how many people are missing at this point. but we are going to continue to look until every person is

accounted for. >> it is a horrible time for the state. >> i know there are families wondering where their loved ones are, right now we are doing everything as a state to get as much emergency personnel, state agencies charities, doing search-and-rescue, making sure we look under every piece of debris, buildings, roads, communities to find anyone injured or lost from the storms that have hit the state of oklahoma. >> we go to cnns gary tuchman, in moore, oklahoma, we are hearing the death toll could be rising dramatically, do you have any sense of whether there have been numbers updated and what are you seeing at this hour? >> well, suzanne, i am outside the elementary school, i have been here for 4 1/2 hours.

unfortunately, i am sorry to report there just hasn't been any good news coming out of here during this search for children who might have possibly survived this tornado here in moore. it is the elementary school. cameras are not allowed at the site. i have been standing here talking on the telephone giving the live reports. but the search has entered a new phase now. there are fewer firemen and women on the scene. they don't expect to find survivors, that's the sad news. not clear how many children are unaccounted for. seven children, 3rd graders in the school did die from the tornado. we know there are at least 20 others unaccounted for. we do believe some of them ended up in shelters, in a nearby area. that's the good news. but we do know that -- parents are missing their kids. we are actually -- spent the day, part of the evening talking to one man sitting there with

tears streaming down his face, his 9-year-old third grader missing. very calm, serene, comforted by firemen and women on the scene. terribly sad to see this man suffering the way he is suffering. the devastation in the neighborhood, suzanne is unbelievable. remind me of january 2012, the northern japan during the tsunami. this neighborhood where the school is you can't recognize where the houses used to be. it is totally -- totally flatten flattened, obliterated like a bomb fell on top of it. a powerful tornado. what is so sad, being here at the school for the last four hours, seeing no good news. hoping doctors and nurses on the site, we would see survivors. what made it really sad, most of the doctors and nurses, still some here, most have now left. they had no work to do. >> we want to remind our viewers, we are live throughout the evening and early morning hours there. can you give us a since of whether or not, are there still parents going to where you are

to the school asking questions, looking for chair children? is it still an active site or fairly dark just a few people trying to make sense of what happened? >> i am standing 100 feet from the rubble. earlier in the evening there were, two or three parents there. they ear advised to stay away. they were advise they'd would get help at nearby community centers. and there was nothing they could see here. you think as a parent you want to run out in the rubble and look. you can't do that. it know it practical. scores of firemen and women searching through the rubble, and they haven't recovered any additional body. it is amidst tons of damage. right now we don't see parents here. this is not a good healthy place for hem to them to be. they need help from people trained to give the help. they're no longer at the site. >> gary, its is dark. can you describe what you are seeing? >> yeah, no, they have flood lights on the scene.

what you are looking at you would never know this is a school. i mean it is, it is -- it looks like a war zone. i mean, literally. it is a cli they when we describe damage. that's what this looks like, a war zen. there are flood lights on the scene. most of the night, 40, 50 rescuers on the sight. frantically digging. they've then started using machinery, drills, axes, bulldozers, to clear some of the rubble. now it's entered a different phase. fewer people there. they're looking a little more slowly, there are other people who are looking in the imed me yac through the immediate area. going through the rubble. other houses, the children may have ended up there. the active hope that there are survivors in the school, that frankly did not seem realistic anymore. i am sad to to say that, sorry to say that. that is the case right now. >> gary, are there any officials there who can help parents and neighbors get information abut their children, the whereabuts

of their children, and, the point at which this investigation, this search is under way? >> yeah, this area, this is a working area. pretty much an off-limits area. they don't want the parents here. they would refuse parents the right to be here. there is no spokesman here. that's why, to be honest with you, for me to get here, because we, obviously wanted to report what was going on, it entailed a two-mile hike to get here. all the roads are closed. and not only are they closed, from, emergency vehicles to go through, some of the roads, and the emergency vehicles because they have been destroyed. i had to hike two miles. this isn't a place for news conferences and pronouncements. this is the place, hard important work, trying to find survivors which hasn't happened yet. >> gary, we will be getting back to you as the morning continue thousands. as the we get more and more information. what gary is saying, very difficult to hear. the news is not getting better, getting worse. they discover more body and it looks like potentially letting

go of some of the hope and the concerns and the hope that perhaps there are children who are alive. he says they don't really think so anymore. >> it is heartbreaking. dark. quieter. fewer people at the scene. less hope. we are following the story. the country is following the story. u.s. president barack obama signing a disaster declaration for oklahoma, releasing federal aid to the tornado struck state. he spoke with governor mary fallin earlier monday, telling oklahoma is on his and the first lady's thoughts and prayers. the federal funding pledged, grants for temporary housing, home repairs and lope cost loans for uninsured property losses. >> national weather service has given the tornado a preliminary rating of ef-4. doesn't mean a lot to the rest of us. in fact, wind speeds could be 166, 200 miles an hour. >> we want to go straight to our meteorologist, ivan cabrera, at cnn weather center. give us a sense what were the

people dealing with when it hit, touched ground? >> you both made a good point there. the winds aren't going to matter once this is all done for the people that lost loved ones here. but, we are going to get a category here. either an ef-4 or ef-5. difference will be is it over 200 miles per hour when it touched ground or is it not? we have an issue right now. what i want to do is barack this down as far as what we have, the current threat. right over the area that was affected here in, norman, in moore, severe thunderstorm watch is in effect right now. so the rescuers that are out there right now, pulling perhaps people from rubble, they're going to have to deal with unsettled weather tonight. perhaps could get a severe thunderstorm there. we do have a watch box out for it now. we do not expect any ef-4 and ef-5s or significant tornadic activity tonight because we have lost one of the key ingredients the heat. we are at night time here. what happens now. look at the line. thunderstorms that devil of

mainly in a squall line here. now there could be some spinups right ahead of the line here. that is why there is a tornado watch in effect from oklahoma and extends all the way up, into the ohio valley, and, that goes until 5:00 a.m. there is possibility of some spin ups here. that would be again, the more ef-0 tornados here. watch that closely through the overnight hours here. at this point the main threat for -- for the monster tornado thousands certainly over. what i want to do is get into the forecast here. we were with you yesterday. round one, round two on monday here. and now guess what? we have more activity as we head through today. storm prediction center, focusing, further to the east. what happened is we had the same area, get hit twice on sunday and on monday. what i think is going to happen for today, all of that will shift further to the east here. we'll watch that severe weather threat certainly pushing east away from the hardest hit areas. that is excellent news. if you live in places like

wichita falls, springfield, not good news for you. that is going to be the bull's yim he eye here for potential strong weather and strong tornados as well. guys, that its the set of what we are dealing with right now as far as the rest of tonight heading into tomorrow. three days, maybe fourth one here. watch that closely of the worst kind of weather -- >> ivan, oklahoma, tornado alley its used to big, bad, deadly storms. this one steamed to be even by that standard, an enormous killer. how different was this? can you give us a sense of the scale of the storm that hit moore compared to the ones they see year in, year out. >> absolutely. the map i have in front of you here on google earth. this map right here is just basically improbable. we have three major tornadic outbreaks here all within about 14 years of each other here. these are ef-4s or ef-5s.

the likelihood of them going through the exact same areas here, well is just astronomical here. that is what happened. that's what the folks in moore have had to deal with. the latest being in 1999. i think here on out, things will be compared to the one that hit, yesterday, here, that is yellow track that you see here. it was on the ground for 22 miles. it, it just, exploded here, went from, an ef-1, 2, and the problem was is that it happened right over the most populated area here where the schools are, where the interstate crosses here. that its where we have the monster develop. that's where we have the ef-4, ef-5. wedge tornado that will be in everybody's mind for a time. it fizzled out as the it headed east. i saw it myself live with within of the news choppers. just roped out from a wedge tornado to just a thin rope and then just -- vanished here. of course the devastation it left behind is what we'll be covering the next few weeks,

months ahead. >> unbelievable. ivan, thank you so much. appreciate it. of course, john, it is hard to imagine when you think what would it be like if you couldn't find somebody. one of your loved ones was missing. there is a way you can try to contact them. the red cross is now, got a safe and well website. of and running. you can find it safeandwell.org. list yourself or search for family/friends. people are using social media in many ways to try to connect with loved ones. you can also visit facebook.com/mooretornadolostand found. the big question, a lot of people are thinking about. what can you do, what can you do to help folks out there? donate to the red cross, visit www.redcross.org or call 1-800-redcross, or text as well. and people thinking feeling helpless >> there are parents who don't know where their children are.

children who were taken to shept shelters can't find their parents. children don't have a cell phone, no means to drive, wondering where their families are. 1:15, 9:15 after the storm hit. where things are now. >> we will take a quick break and have the latest information on the casualties, the recovery effort, and of course it is dark out there. what can be done this evening and into the early morning hours? we'll be right back. i'm the next american success story. working for a company

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>> and everything was coming, and what do we do? do we have time to gent the vehicles? we have pets. or do we just hon hecker down. so we grabbed our motorcycle helmets and hid in the closet it and prayed like hell. and luckily the only thing -- >> that is a remarkable, remarkable story of survival that we just heard. just one of the residents of moore, oklahoma. >> they had warnings. they knew they weren for heavy weather. but not the explosive storm that actually struck moore. in some cases people were lucky enough to just really get a few minutes of warning time before the monster tornado actually struck monday. unfortunately, though, there are deaths. right now, at more than 12:15, in oklahoma, number stands at 51. provisional. sad to tell you there are 40 more body that have been recovered. the official death toll is therefore expected to climb. >> chief national correspondent

john king at a staging area where the search-and-rescue teams they're being sent out here. john, we are just, really, it its heartbreaking. we are getting bad news as the evening and morning hours progress here. is there any sense of what you are seeing? of the possibility of survivors? >> despair and exhaustion and there is some hope, yes, i am at a christian church, abundant life church, and the sign is so fitting, it says, when you have had all you can stand, kneel. a fit saying on this night. a lot of people are kneeling, exhausted. and there are some in the community missing loved ones. hoping out at the community church. hoping for word. and several teams of first responders here. i was with several teams from a nearby fire department, they organized into small groups, a half dozen or so. mostly fire department, national

guard people along with them and others and sent out on what the captain described as a search, rescue, and recovery. the uncertainty. they're still hoping, search-and-rescues. but the team thousands, first responders are, also, cadaver dogs. going through debris in buildings. following tips. people coming from the community. talking to police, first responders. trying to give them idea. a community always comes together after something like this. so striking the parking lot is full of exhausted people who have been out all day, many national guard units, police uniforms, some just volunteers. and they're eating bananas, apples, red cross has brought here. lying on the sidewalk just outside the church. littered in debris. a horrible scene. so typical unfortunately of these kind of events. across the street, neat little homes untouched t yet, 15 yard away, buildings and trees knocked over and the yard of the

school just littlered with debris. and i have been driving around moore a couple hours. it is, like, strip malls. buildings are shredded. twisted. has the the horrible, wet, musty smell after tornados. remarkably there are first responders. you can see the exhaustion. they're still policing the streets. they're searching. as i said there are search teams here waiting for any tips to come in. they're going out though conditions, dark, middle of the night. there is eerie lightning above the town. they're going out looking. they'll keep looking until they are told there is no more hope. >> john, i want to remind our viewers, that we are of course live throughout the morning. we are really, getting a sense of what is taking place on the ground in realtime. i wondered, you mention, make a very good point. people come together in times of crises, and communities particularly hard, hard hit. volunteers, are people able to got out there? are they able to do something about this to help the

search-and-rescue folks? or are they saying "stay away. stay put. it is not helpful. "you have the cadaver dogs out there, professionals out there? is there anything that the community can do right now? >> i really urge people to listen to us. to listen to the local radio. and to look at any web sites they may want the i've did talk to the state trooper here who sadly first and foremost said he expected, the dispatching of more ambulances here, expecting the doeath toll to rise significantly overnight. he said, a pastor of the church said to me "at the moment, this site" -- the site i have been at and more in moore, they have all the volunteers they need. they expect the first wave and second wave to be exhausted as tomorrow comes up. urging people to check in with their church, red cross, local authorities, depending where they are, how far away, most devastated areas.

they'rewell cupping so. grateful for the help. what they don't want to do is overwhelm the sites where you have people who have been displaced from the home, need food, water and cots available. and first responders, watching more return now. national guard troops. looking exhausted and a little dazed. they're also asking when they come back can they just grab a snack and go back at it. so when it comes to that i really urge people, especially overnight now, it is overnight, dark, not safe to go into many streets. first and foremost. people don't want more people to get hurt or lost. a lot of the streets are muddy and full of debris. in the morning, a good time to regroup and check and see what will be best if you are trying to help. >> sure. fitting you are at a church. i know a lot of people pouring forth support and prayers at this time. john, we'll check back in in a little bit. >> so many people want to help. the red cross number you can use if you want to find out how you can help people affected by the tornadoes. we'll put the number up on the

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welcome back to our continuing coverage of the oklahoma tornadoes. it is 9:29 after that terrible storm hit. here is a quick recap -- officials are using the evernigeve overnight hours, best they can. using night vision, heat seeking cameras to look for survivors. confirmed deaths, 51.

40 more bodies have been recovered. we expect the death toll to rise dramatically. more than 145 people are being treated in the hospitals. search-and-rescue efforts under way including at the school where they're looking for any one that may be trapped. >> thousand of buildings are simply gone. to give you an idea of the magnitude of the tornado, db ebs has been found 90 miles away. unbelievable. we have seen the images of devastation. it can be hard to grasp, the size of this disaster zone. tom foreman maps out the damage. >> reporter: there are so many parts of oklahoma where a storm could have gone through and caused little damage. but it hit one of the most populous parts of the state. this suburb of oklahoma city, home to 55,000 people. and lack how densely the houses are gathered around the elementary school we have talked about so much. in this picture alone there are 350 homes. that's typical of much of the suburban area. we know what kind of force they saw there. this is that school, before the

storm came through. and this is the same school afterward. let's go up here and look at the medical center taken out of commission by the storm. this is the medical center after the storm. the same medical center before. looked much more like this. just south of that. the theater, very popular with local folks there. this is the theater before the storm. this is the theater after the storm. it is important to look at a few touch stones like this in the storm area. because we know this from other images we have seen. the real force of the storm came through here, in a mile-wide swath, maybe even more. so between these two lines, and just hammered all of these homes in here. how many people were vulnerable? we are estimating that conservatively in the immediate area here there are 5,000 homes, not all of them were damaged. certainly not all were destroyed. they were all in the path of this massive tornado. and many, many people are counting their blessings or

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and this morning in oklahoma, i want to bring you up to date here. this is the latest. moore, oklahoma, search-and-rescue teams working through the night. so far, 51 people are confirmed dead from monday's massive tornado. within the past hour we have now been told, 40 more body have been recovered. so the official year going to hear that phrase a lot.

developed by a meteorologist named fujita. ef-4 is the second strongest level on the scale that meteorologists use. >> we've lost animals. we've lost everything. we don't have anything left. and my parents, i can't get ahold of them. we have no cell. we, you know, so if they're out there and they're watching, please let them know that i and my family is okay. and we'll make it. we'll be okay. but everything is gone. >> let's now turn to a storm chaser who has been tracking the massive tornadoes and the destruction they have left behind. bretton lee joins us from newcastle, oklahoma. just to let people know, newcastle, we haven't mentioned it much in the broadcast. right next to moore. it also saw a lot of the damage. how close were you and what was it like to see this thing come by? >> we were initially 200 to 300 yards east of the tornado. it was pretty intense in that area.

we saw the rotation. the national weather service was spot-on as far as getting out a warning about 16 minutes ahead of the actual tornado being on the ground. in that location, i mean, it's a normal sound that you hear from everybody explaining it. i mean, it's surreal. but the sound of a freight train rolling on. you know, when it came down, it was just a small ef-1. but as i've said earlier, it was one of the tornadoes that i never seen intensify this quickly. you know, it went from an ef-1 to an ef-3 or 4 in a matter of about 15 minutes. >> now, i'm going to jump in with a question about that. >> go ahead. >> because what you're talking about is the wind speed picking up dramatically in a way that is deadly. the word we have is that the debris field, the area that wood and rubble and cement and car parts were flying around was two miles wide. maybe two and a half miles wide.

any one of those pieces of debris could have killed you. you're being very calm about this. but how frightening was it to be around? did you have a sense of all of that material moving around in the air and the wind? >> you know, as the video that you're showing right now, we were about a mile to two miles away from that tornado as it was probably around an ef-3, 140-plus miles an hour. there was debris flying in front of us, in front of the vehicle. you know what? we were in the vehicle, although it's still not exactly safe. we felt pretty safe in the area we were at. one thing while i was shooting the actual tornado out of the car, you know, the inflow of the actual wind going into the tornado was so strong even from a mile or two miles off that it was trying to suck my iphone out of my hand. i was estimating at 60 to 70 miles per hour. the inflow that was that far away from the tornado. >> bretton, i want to ask you this. first of all, we're taking a look at these pictures. how close were you to the

tornado where it had touched down? and how did you know that this was something that was extraordinarily different than what you seen and experienced before? >> well, initially, we were about 200 to 300 yards from the initial rotation, southeast of the actual touchdown. how i knew it was a little different from the ones we've seen in the past, eastbound yesterday when we saw three tornadoes, this one went from just a small tornado to a fairly large ef-2. and probably a two-mile stretch. then it just continued to widen as it went further. you know, at about ten minutes past, it actually touching down, it was already an established ef-3, with 140-plus miles an hour. i've never seen one intensify so quickly. and then, you know, about 15 or 20 minutes after touchdown, it was so heavily rain-wrapped, and the actual damage ball on the radar was so large, that you couldn't even see the tornado any more at that point, even with it being approximately a

mile wide. >> a dangerous hobby, and on a day when it was particularly deadly. brenton leete, a storm chaser talked to us about watching that storm hit the ground. >> covered in dirt without a shirt, a man who works in a horse stable describes taking a direct hit from this tornado. lando height says he was caught in a whirlwind that pushed him in the horse stall he was inside more than 100 yards across concrete. he says intense violence began with just an eerie stillness. >> it was all windy and stuff before the tornado came. i didn't have -- i had no idea it was coming. just figured it was just like yesterday, a big storm coming. and all of the sudden it went quiet. and when it did that, being from oklahoma, i came outside to see. and i seen -- i seen debris flying over that way. and i thought i might have had a little while. so i tried to let some of the horses get loose and free out of their stalls so they would have a chance. i didn't have very long at all.

and i jumped into one of the stalls here. and that's what these here used to be. and they clashed over on top of me. and sat a pickup truck on top of it and pushed it down this here cement way. and it was just unbearably loud. and you could see stuff flying everywhere. >> the guy looks like he has been through hell. it has been more than nine hours since a massive tornado destroyed parts of oklahoma. we are still just learning the scale of the devastation. i want to bring in george howell. he is live from moore, oklahoma, near the site where an elementary school once stood. it is now gone. george, i know it's dark, it's late. what is taking place around you? what can you see? >> well, it is dark now, certainly, but you can still see the glow of what is happening. the search and rescue still under way over there. we know that at least 14 different fire departments are there on the scene. they're doing their best to go

through all of that debris, you know, to find survivors there. and, you know, one thing that we've seen from this particular vantage point from where we've been standing, one by one, we've seen firefighters. we've seen investigators. we've seen sheriff's deputies. police officers, people are filing past us to go into this area to help with the search. they're going in, going out. that's been happening through the night. also, police here. they've issued somewhat of a curfew to make sure that residents in this neighborhood leave. they want to make sure that looting is not an issue. you wouldn't think that that would happen in a situation like this. but to be safe, these police departments have issued that curfew to make sure that the streets are clear. one other thing that we've seen, and this has been very interesting, and i don't see anyone around now. but we've seen people with flashlights going door to door, house to house. they're keeping up the search, looking for people who may still be trapped in their homes. again, earlier today, we saw

residents doing that. but they've all left. now it's these different groups. they're working with we believe, we presume working with officials, going house by house, looking for people. there were also a couple of, you know, some good stories. obviously, the big story we're focusing on right now is what is happening over there with the search and rescue. but there were family members who found their relatives, parents who found their children. earlier today, i spoke with three parents who, as you can imagine, were incredibly thankful to see their kids. take a listen. >> i thank god that i got there in time to pick up my nieces, my nephews, my son, because i don't know what i would have done if he would have been one of -- i mean, i can't -- i'm speechless. how did this happen? why did this happen? my son's still -- how do we explain this to the kids? how are they going to wake up

tomorrow and everything is missing? the school, these houses, their friends. nobody knows where anybody is. we can't contact anybody. hopefully, if anybody is listening, you know, we're okay. i'm from wisconsin. and if, again, if anybody is listening, my son and i are okay. my sisters, my nieces and nephews, my brother-in-law, everybody is fine. but there is very many people that are left without houses. their cars, everything. everything is gone. in an instant, everything, everything is gone. >> rosa, i wanted to ask you, what was it like for you, you know, in those moments after the tornado to come out here looking for your child? >> i was scared. i was stuck at work. i work at hobby lobby up the street, and we were hiding out, waiting out the storm. and i was told that the kids couldn't leave without a parent coming to get them. so i was scared that my sisters were probably not able to get my kids. and communication. so you're frightened for that moment. >> norma, i know that your son wanted to talk to us.

do you mind if we ask him a question? >> sure, go ahead. >> julio, what was it like to be in that building at that time? >> it was scary. and a lot of my friends were still there when i left. >> what did your teachers tell you to do? you showed me a moment ago. >> go ahead and show him what you did in school. >> you got and you covered your head with your hands. and all of my friends were hot and sweaty, because we were all bunched up. >> and you did that, you did that through the whole storm? >> yeah. >> until i picked them up, they were all -- all the children were down. and as soon as i walked through the building, i mean i was a little hysterical. i was running through the building barefoot and just screaming their names. and each one of my kids stood up, and they came with me. >> maria, what is going through your mind? >> you know, i heard that the storm was coming towards us. i heard that it was coming towards the school. i just thought about my daughter. i thought, you know, i have nieces and nephews in there. i had to get them out. and i saw it.

i saw it from over the houses that it was coming, that it was about to touch down. i got to get him out. i'm glad that we did get them. look what is left? there isn't much left. we went through the office. and now this are so many cars just inside the office. it's like well, what happened. >> so, you know, when you see parents like that, that's why we want to be especially careful with this verbiage. it is still a search-and-rescue operation. we were told that just over an hour ago. these officials, they're still going in there. they're still looking for people who could be trapped in the rubble. also here in the neighborhood, we know that they're still going house by house looking for people. so, you know, as we get any new information on that, we will obviously pass that along. but, you know, i do know that there are parents, there are mothers and fathers who are paying very close attention to every word that we say. so, you know, that is the latest that we have from officials. and we will continue to update you as we get more information. >> all right. george, thank you very much. we know it's so important to feel a sense of hope, you know, and optimism, even if it does

not look good, until the very end, just to see. because you never know if there is a miracle that is going to happen. >> and imagine the contrast. they had just moments to prepare for this storm. and now after those short moments of panic and preparation, long, long hours of searching, hours of shock, hours of grief. our coverage will continue. we'll be back right after this. [ male announcer ] my client gloria has a lot going on in her life. wife, mother, marathoner. but one day it's just gonna be james and her. so as their financial advisor, i'm helping them look at their complete financial picture -- even the money they've invested elsewhere -- to create a plan that can help weather all kinds of markets. because that's how they're getting ready, for all the things they want to do. [ female announcer ] when people talk, great things can happen. so start a conversation with an advisor who's fully invested in you. wells fargo advisors. together we'll go far. with the innovating and the transforming

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welcome back to cnn's continuing live coverage of the deadly tornado in oklahoma. we've been telling you all evening and early into the morning, dozens of people have been killed. this is in moore. it's a suburb of oklahoma city. this is amazing. it's a look at how this storm grew in size and strength, just within minutes. >> very intense tornado now. we have watched it go from just a very thin rope-like tornado to now what looks to appear to be debris flying in the air from the base, damon? >> nine hours and roughly 52 minutes ago. it's 52 minutes after the hour. our continuing coverage of this is not going to let up. we'll be on this story pour the hours and days to come.

now, one of the reasons we're paying so much attention to this tornado is how big it got. it expanded to become more than two miles wide. most tornadoes just to give you a sense of this are less than 500 yards. . this was a whole other beast. >> you can imagine the numbers of people who want to be on the ground, who are trying to help, trying to find who is actually there. 14 different fire departments, they are still there on the scene, long into the night, well into the morning. we are watching them. they are searching, essentially, for people who might be alive still under the rubble from hundreds of these destroyed buildings here. >> witnesses described it all happening very, very quickly, from the moment it formed to how fast it grew. it exploded. it was estimated, as we keep saying, at two miles wide at one point. >> i want to bring in our meteorologist ivan cabrera at the cnn severe weather center. and ivan, i mean, we have been watching this hour by hour, minute by minute. and it is hard to understand how this happened so quickly, even

the storm chaser said he was shocked when he saw this thing grow before his eyes. >> absolutely. i was home watching it. it went from rope to an ef-4, ef-5 and then a rope tornado in just about 40 minutes. and the damage, of course, has been incredible. one of the things of course you're familiar with the radar that we show you here on cnn frequently. and you're familiar with the colors, right? the deeper the colors, orange means heavy rainfall and sometimes hail. this should not be here. what this is nonmeteorological. this is not precipitation. what it is, of course, is nonmeteorological targets, which means people's homes, whatever is left of them, flying up in the air. the radar is bouncing off of that material and coming back to us. and it is indicated as that. because the hail core usually is to the north here. this is where that circulation was. and as jonathan and suzanne mentioned, at one point, two miles wide. i was watching doors, houses, just spinning around. the kind of stuff that you see

in movies. but obviously happening in real life here. i want to show you the enhanced fujita scale. we've been talking about this a lot. the winds here estimated, again, anywhere from 166 to 200 miles an hour. the national weather service could come back and say today that it is an ef-5. the damage i've seen certainly would comport with that here. incredible damage here. just imagine your car going down the interstate, going three times as fast as the speed limi

recorded. >> this kind of damage being i suspect more devastating picture of what we have seen already.

>> we will be back with the very latest on this absolutely devastating storms and tornados that have already killed scores of people near oklahoma city. me the largest 4glte network. others, because of our reputation for reliability. or maybe it's because we've received jd power and associates' customer service award 4x in a row. in the end, there are countless reasons. but one choice. a brand new start. your chance to rise and shine. with centurylink as your trusted technology partner, you can do just that. with our visionary cloud infrastructure, global broadband network and custom communications solutions, your business is more reliable - secure - agile.

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