up in the air chasing a dream so real ♪ ♪ i've been up in the air is this the end i feel up in the air chasing a dream ♪ ♪ chasing a dream take no more i'll take no more take no more i'll take no more ♪ ♪ a thousand times i've tempted fate take no more a thousand times ♪ ♪ i've played this game take no more a thousand times that i have said ♪ ♪ today today today today ♪ ♪ today today today today ♪ ♪ today

today today ♪ ♪ i'll wrap my hands around your neck i'll wrap my hands ♪ ♪ around your neck so tight with love ♪ >> jimmy: i want to thank ethan hawke, desiree hartsock. apologies to matt damon, we ran out of time. tomorrow night, alyssa milano, ludacris and music from darius rucker. "nightline" is next. good night.

tonight on ""nightline."" 40 minutes of hell. the monster twister that levelled an entire town in less than an hour. stories of survival and hope. as the zempsearch continues for victims lost in the rubble of one of the most devastating storms in oklahoma history, we learn how one block of neighbors made it through the worst case scenario. shocking images in the wake of the 25th tornado to hit the oklahoma region in the last ten years. tonight, baring witness moments after the storm. a first account .

>> good evening. thanks for joining us. i'm cynthia mcfadden. it was a normal monday afternoon in moore, oklahoma. then a super tornado a mile wider to through a vast expanse of homes, hospitals and schools, killing dozens and injuring countless more. and tonight, emergency crews continue their desperate search for those lost in the rubble as survivors cling to hope. david? >> good evening from oklahoma, where search teams worked right up through night fall. they promised to go through every one of these homes and these destroyed neighborhoods three times before giving up on anyone. they were even searching in that skoom, but no new discoveries. what we have learned overnight, though, is that that tornado was

much more power tfl than anyone originally thought. >> this is the most monstrous tornado i've ever seen by far. >> reporter: it was an ef-5 twister, the top of the scale. winds topping 200 miles an hour, the most powerful and deadly tornado there is. the storm left 24 people dead, nine of them children in moore, oklahoma. >> i saw it come over the trees and saw the debris and the wall cloud. it was pretty big. >> reporter: the town is almost completely wiped out. >> it looked like pa war zone. it just looked like bombs had been ignited everywhere. there's a car part in my bedroom, you know? everything is gone. just in a matter of 30 minutes, your whole life is torn upside down. >> rescuers continue to dig for

survivors. promising to search every building, every home three times, they're not giving up on anyone. >> i have yet to find my f-150 pickup. and i don't know where it's at. and it was full sized 2007 crew cap super crew f-150. and i don't know where it's at. >> but no survivors or bodies have been found since last night. tragically the youngest and most vulnerable were also the hardest hit. two elementary schools and plaza towers elementary school were both in the direct path of the tornado. children were instructed to stay in the school because it was safer. and most were crouching in interior corridor, hallways of their school when the buildings took a direct hit. >> i was in my classroom build ing and we were told to get in our tornado precaution system. but then they moved us to the boys and girls bathroom. >> i was on the ground and i just my ears just went beep and

i couldn't hear anything but cracking and kids screaming. this photo of the cob family walking away from the school has become an iconic image from the storm. with donna and steve cobb picking their daughters up from school. jordan was in her father's arms. >> just when i was, like, i tried to get up and i tried to move the bricks off of my leg and it hurt so much and i was like -- the tornado had not left yet. and i was just screaming, help, my leg, my leg. and no one could hear me. >> reporter: children like jordan, stunned by what they've survived. >> teachers comforted their students as best they could. as frantic parents rushed to find their children amidst the rubble, and there are still tears. new images of those first reunions. this mother reunited with hez son camden who had been sobbing in the arms of his teacher, waiting for his mother.

4. >> he was so brave. oh, he was so brave. >> reporter: briarwood elementary and plaza tower elementary suffered different fates. even though they're only a mile apart, in briarwood, they all got out. cindy teaches third grade. she saw topened the door and sa coming. >> i saw it coming right towards the school immediately. just ran over and got on top of the kids. i said this is not a drill. you're really going to have to get down, get your heads covered. >> reporter: one of those children, her own son. her body on top of his and several others as they cried for

their own moms. >> they had desks and chairs and tables covering them. >> reporter: and teacher. another teacher urged her students to use their backpacks as shields. >> they were covering their heads with their backpacks. >> reporter: what were the kids saying during all of this. >> i want my mom. is this really happening? just screaming and crying. >> you formed a human chain with other teachers? >> yes, just to get them up and over the debris. >> reporter: their school destroyed, too. so how did the children get out when so many of the students at plaza towers did not? biddle believes the reason the students survived was because each grade is organized into pods. a few classrooms in if each buildings. and in the center, an opening to the outdoors. and when everything collapsed, she said they crawled out through that open area in the middle. unlike plaza towers, a long line

of classrooms all under one roof. when it collapsed, the roof and the walls piling upon one another. there was no opening in the middle. the schools practiced tornado drills but neither one had safe rooms which potentially could have saved lives. >> we're in the process of learning as much as we can about what happened and we're reviewing our emergency procedures today. >> reporter: no matter how a building is constructed, by far the safest place to be in a tornado is underground. as jason discovered. he shot this video of the funnel cloud right before he headed to his storm shelter. his wife and four children already waiting for them. he shows me the cellar completely underground made of concre concrete. >> i can touch both walls. >> barely enough room for the family. >> reporter: and when he walked back upstairs, he emerged to this scene. >> the lord giveth and the lord

taketh away. >> jimmy: today he showed us where he survived this. >> kind of a roar. i think that got the kids frightened. >> reporter: 'hen his wife knew the house was gone. his wife warning the children their home was no longer. >> every landmark was gone, the trees were gone. it didn't look like my property or my neighborhood. >> reporter: completely wiped off the map. >> it was pretty much wiped off the map. we have a few pieces standing in our house. some closets are standing. so maybe there's some clothes with ecan salvage, but other thachb that, it's definitely a total loss. >> reporter: jason was one of the lucky ones. neither he nor his family was hurt. hundreds of other people were not as lucky. moore, oklahoma, is what's dubbed oklahoma valley. there's prone tor storms in peak tornado season in may through june. >> maybe half a mile wide 37. >> reporter: in fact, this is the second time moore, oklahoma, has been hit like this.

on may 3, 1999, another ef-5 tornado touched down in the very same place. 36 people were killed. the chances of another storm hitting again in such a small tune with the exact same path -- minuscule, but it happened. >> just simply a huge tornado. >> reporter: it all began at 2:40 local time monday afternoon when the first tornado warning went out. >> this is horrible! >> reporter: 16 minutes later, the massive ef-5 tornado emerging from the skies over oklahoma. local news reporters accustomed to seeing funnel clouds were stunned by the destructive power. >> oh, my gosh. oh, my gosh. i don't know if people lived in that one. >> reporter: even hardened storm chasers were terrified. >> stop, stop, stop! >> reporter: in an instant, hundreds of homes and buildings obliterated. the enormity of the storm prompted a swift federal response. last night, president obama making federal funding immediately available. and today he spoke at the white

house. >> the people of moore should know that their country will remain on the ground there for them beside them as long as it takes. >> reporter: that federal response was already visible on the ground. the director of fema spending the dare in oklahoma. >> it's unfortunate that we are once again seeing what tornadoes can do. but you're also seeing what the investment in public safety and the commitment and training exercise does when disaster does streak. >> and the oklahoma national guard was called in for the search and rescue effort. using night vision goggles to continue b the search long into the night. but there's little to be done at this point but to grieve the lives lost and a community now starting to rebill. we now know there was not a safe room in either one of these schools. authorities say fema has helped fund safe rooms in buildings across oklahoma, but there's not

enough funds to build one at every school. these schools were not on the list. >> next, one day after one of the most devastating storms in oklahoma's history, we hear from a clock of neighbors who survived the chaos. that's just brilliant i know...foot-activated liftgate and greeage so much better than a foot-activated liftgate or great gas mileage yeah, that'd be like us going to a bed or breakfast i'm glad we picked bed i like "and" better. yeah and is better, the twenty thirteen escape. only ford gives you ecoboost fuel economy and a whole lot more. go further

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>> 200 miles an hour, that's how fast yesterday's storm ripped through moore, oklahoma. but amidst the rubble that littered the ground, the number that captures our hearts and

minds is not the speed of the storm, but the number of lives it affected. we mourn those lost and we stand in awe of those who managed to survive. here's abc's cecelia vega. >> reporter: just as of yesterday, this was a neighborhood of modest homes, a place where families live. and now tonight, this. destruct everywhere. >> this is all that's left of richard jones' house. >> right inside that door is the kitchen. it sucked the refrigerator through this door almost. tried to pull it all the way through the door. >> your christmas lights? >> they were in the attic. >> reporter: he and his entire family hunkered down in the bathtub as the tornado destroyed everything around them. >> all the debris just flying around in the air. it lasted about 90 seconds, my daughter said. but it seemed like forever. >> reporter: what was a home now a pile of debris.

and there are piles just like it up and down this street from one end of southwest 6th street to the next. homes flattened. tony had just moved in two weeks ago. >> one of the prettiest neighborhoods in moore. we're going to rebuild, though. >> right here? >> right here. god has his reason for everything, you've got to believe. >> reporter: what is almost impossible to believe, all the stories of survival. the tornado ripped through this entire neighborhood. all the memories residents spent a lifetime collecting went flying. one found degree in our front yard 100 miles away. she set a facebook page, a cyberlost and found. baby pictures, a sonogram. graduations, weddings, an i love you to mom. this photo of a kissing couple and a note from the person who found it. just hoping that the two in this photo are okay. >> these two were hoping for something different. they wanted to find their

friend's dog fly. and when they findly did, she was all alone, shaken, her tail between her legs, curled on the floor board of her owner's car. >> was in the front seat here, just waiting. >> just waiting for you guys? >> i guess. >> reporter: and that car, just take a look. >> curled up on the floor board of the front seat. >> reporter: this car is destroyed. never seen anything like this. wow. >> i was in the middle of the street watching the storm go by. >> reporter: this man lived his entire life on this block. he knew the tornado was coming. what did you hear? >> sounds like a bunch of trains coming. just really, really loud. got louder and louder. >> reporter: but he chose to ignore the sirens and all those warnings. why didn't you leave? >> don't run. it's exciting. this is a sport basically. >> reporter: when he realized this was a tornado unlike any he had ever seen, he ran for his

life. he had just two minutes to climb into a neighbor's shelter, then it hit. and when he came out? and this is what you see? >> yep. and i freaked out. >> reporter: everything, gone. >> this was a walkway? >> reporter: this was a call actually. >> jimmy: n not just as house but the block. where do you even begin? but even amid all of this tonight, there are promises to rebuild. >> insideed, cecelia, tu thank r that. next, we bring you images you will never forget. [ sally ] my antidepressant worked hard to help with my depression. but sometimes, i still struggled to get going, even get through the day. so i was honest with my doctor. i told her i'd been feeling stuck for a long time. she said that for some people, an antidepressant alone only helps so much

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>> we turned out images taken in the direct aftermath of yesterday's twister, images that for the brave people of moore, oklahoma, serve as a somber reflection on what they have indpur durred. each of these chilling photos was captured by associated press photographers who was one of the first on the scene. >> we had advanced warning that tornados would be developing yesterday afternoon. i knew i had to get down here quickly. i had to get down here before it hit or at least be on my way before it hit. i was excepting to find destruction. driving down here, there's a lot of worry, a lot of anticipation. i parked the car and started

driving around. that's when i found the school. there was destruction and people died, but what i got to see was people being saved. often as a news photographer.ery the school was really badly hit. when i rounded the corner and saw the building at first, i didn't know it was a school. i had to ask someone and they told me it was a school. and that's where i think the best images came from. and there were images of children being saved. you know, among all this destruction, they were being saved. the debris was so heavy and so thick, it was amazing that anyone could come out of there. and it was just -- every time a child got pulled out of there, it was just a sense of relief. oh, another one. and she's okay, he's okay. they look scared but they don't really look like they're hurt. but to actually witness the saving, it's an incredible feeling. >> people who wish to make a dona