tragedy in oklahoma as a massive tornado carved a path through the town of moore. south of oklahoma city. entire neighborhoods have been completely leveled. at least two schools were crushed, and the death toll is rising. >> we had to sit like this. and the tornado started knocking the ceiling up and down, and a light went down, and it hit me in the head. and all the other girls were screaming. and they were crying. >> i had to hold on to the wall to keep myself safe because i didn't want to fly away in the tornado. >> it was coming. it was hitting. and everybody said, put your head down. hut your head down. some people got hurt but we made it alive. many people remain trapped

in collapsed structures across the area, but damaged and blocked roads as well as heavy traffic are hampering search efforts this early hour there in oklahoma. good morning and welcome to a special edition of "early today." breaking news out of central oklahoma where a massive tornado has killed dozens. that twister touched down just before 3:00 p.m. local time south of oklahoma city and stayed on the ground for nearly 40 minutes. it was at least a mile wide and travelled some 20 miles with winds of up to 200 miles per hour. early reports from the national weather service label it an ef-4, second most powerful type of tornado. it flattened entire neighborhoods and dealt a direct blow to the plaza pours elementary school in the city of moore, south of oklahoma city. this morning at least 51 dead, 20 of them children. more than 120 being treated at local hospitals, and officials expect those numbers to rise. we'll get an update from oklahoma shortly on those

numbers. first responders are going door to door looking for survivors and victims. the state's governor has deployed 80 members of the national guard to assist with rescue operations. president obama declared five counties major disaster areas. nbc's bill karins has been up all night watching this for what is now about 12 hours. and bill, you were saying earlier they got the warning earlier. they couldn't have possibly been in a better situation. >> i don't think anything could have been done. >> then there's today what they have to look forward to as they go through the search and recovery. >> yeah, we need good weather. could get more tornados in other areas of the country. in all, it wasn't a huge severe weather outbreak day. it was probably what you'd call a typical may day, but that's all it does. it takes one strong tornado to really make this an historic day. that's what happened yesterday. in all, 16 tornado reports. but again, the big one was the one that went through moore, oklahoma. this is the west side of moore. this is the elementary school everyone's been talking about. this red line is where the center of the storm went. the northern edges is how wide

it was and the debris field. literally everything in here, all these houses, this medical center, doesn't even exist anymore. it's amazing, there's been pictures of the medical center that have cars stacked on top of each other. probably about five high pushed up against the building, just incredible. there's a closer view of the elementary school they're still searching and picking through their hands in the rubble hoping they can find someone else alive. now, on the other side of 35, cross over, still devastated this region, too, and also a shopping center up here to the north. these schools did survive, and there were no fatalities for any kids. all the people inside did survive. this is the final thing i'll leave you with. this amazing fact that moore, oklahoma, is most likely going to be hit with two ef-5 tornadoes within 14 years. the path crossed, richard, and moore, the one yesterday went just south in '99, it went through the northern portion of the town. i can't even tell you how odd d

defying that is. >> and tough weather for them today, too, perhaps. >> they got storms this morning. they'll be clearing out this afternoon. >> bill will be back later to talk about the idea of tornado alley in the later part of this program. the city of moore, suburb south of oklahoma city, hardest hit, as we've been seeing. nbc's jay gray there as the search for survivors continues. jay, good morning. >> reporter: hey there, good morning, richard. teams continue to work through debris like this in the hardest-hit areas. look, we've heard the whine of chain saws. we've heard the roar of heavy equipment all through the night and now into the early morning. part of a promise that the governor of oklahoma has made to keep searching for survivors as long as possible here. overnight emergency teams continued to search for survivors working through miles of debris in an area leveled by this massive tornado. >> oh, my god. >> this is not good. >> this is terrible. this is war zone terrible. >> reporter: the violent funnel

was more than a mile wide and on the ground for close to an hour. >> when you see a tornado that big, you find a place. you have no choice. it's either find cover or die. >> reporter: and even some who rushed to shelter could not escape the wrath of the storm. >> we locked the cellar door once we saw it coming. it got louder. and the next thing you know, you see the latch coming undone. we couldn't reach for it. and it ripped open the door. just glass and debris started slamming on us. >> reporter: injured victims were pulled from the debris that is scattered across more than 20 miles here. entire neighborhoods and communities seared away by what initial reports indicate was an ef-4 tornado with winds pushing 200 miles an hour. two elementary schools took a direct hit. some of the children were pulled from the wreckage, but we now know at least 20 students were among the dozens killed.

while at a school just off the track of the tornado, students say they could still feel its intensity. >> you could hear it, and you could feel your ears pop out. and you could feel the rumble, and you could feel the debris hitting the walls. you could hear every bit of it. it was scary. >> reporter: emotions that like so much here are still exposed and raw. and that is especially hard for so many survivors already pushed past their limits in areas like this one that were hit the hardest. in oklahoma city, i'm jay gray. richard, back to you now. >> jay, thank you so much for that report. now, just this past hour, republican congressman tom cole who represents oklahoma's fourth district including the community of moore spoke to msnbc about the devastation there. take a listen. >> i never thought i'd see anything worse than what i saw in '99. this is our fourth really in 15 years from '98, '99, 2003 and now this. this is even worse in terms of

the loss of life, obviously. we've got a high number now. i've been talking to friends and family and officials on the ground. that number's going to get worse. the devastation is just unbelievable. >> representative tom cole there on msnbc a little earlier. we have live pictures now as daylight begins to go over the area of moore, oklahoma. here are those chopper pictures just coming into us. a little rough. the sun about to rise. there have been lightning storms in the skies earlier on. we'll take you back there to get an update on relief efforts and how the storm is being documented on social media when "early today" returns. 1y50 "early today" is brought to you by centrum, the most recommended, preferred and studied vitamin brand.

officials are still assessing the full extent of the damage from monday's tornado, but here's what we know right now. the death toll at least 51 including 20 children after a monstrous half mile wide tornado at least a mile wide, rather, went roaring through that area on monday. the tornado passed directly above an elementary school in moore just outside of oklahoma city. winds of up to 200 miles an hour tossing debris into the area with the sheer force crushing homes turning it into piles of wood. the american red cross is on the scene in oklahoma offering relief to those in the affected communities near oklahoma city. joining us by phone is jennifer ramey, smokes person for the american red cross. jennifer, how long have you been there? and when you arrived at the disaster, what did you see? >> well, i just got on the ground after the tornado hit yesterday. and as the sun's rising, we're getting the first look at some of the devastation. and it is in one word,

speechless. >> are you the first person on the ground, and how would you compare this to other disasters you've seen? >> oh, well, each disaster is different, so it would be hard to compare. you know, our first priority is to make sure that families have a safe place to stay, that they have the emotional support and mental health volunteers to talk with and help work through this devastating tragedy. >> so we have -- >> we are also providing hot meals, and we're going to be providing cleanup kits and cleanup supplies once people are able to start getting back into their homes. >> jennifer, obviously the difficult part is getting around. we're looking at some of the pictures of the streets. you have tens of thousands of homes without electricity. that will affect your ability to service those who are displaced from their homes. what's your strategy there? >> reporter: well, you know, we are working very closely with emergency officials. and the moment that power lines

are cleared and roads are accessible, we'll be getting into neighborhoods and getting much needed supplies to people right away. >> what sorts of needs are you seeing? >> we're going to be providing hot meals out of our emergency response vehicles. we've elevated -- or activated more than 25 of them that will be hitting oklahoma city today. we are going to be -- hot meals is so important. we're also going to provide cleanup kits so when people are able to get back into their neighborhoods, you know, they've got the supplies to help start cleaning up. >> jennifer, thank you for joining us today. a lot of work ahead for you. and the good work that needs to be done, as you said, warm meals, shelter, those key issues for them. if you'd like to help, you can text redcross to 90999. you can also call 1-80-red-cross. weather stories like these are being told all over social media. a number of people are using vine, the twitter video service. people went to nearby neighborhoods to show the damage. these are all from david massey.

the volume of debris he is showing here in his vine, absolutely staggering he's showing in a manner of six seconds. a lot of people tweeting photos of damage. governor mary fallin tweeted "visited tonight with search crews. appreciate their hard work and tireless dedication." one of the most famous residents is toby keith. he tweeted "hometown got hit for the gazillionth time. rise again moore, oklahoma. godspeed, prayin." matt kemp tweeted that he's giving $1,000 for every home run he hits until the all-star break for the victims of his hometown. just ahead for you, we'll take you through the intense local news coverage of yesterday's massive tornado in moore, oklahoma, as it was happening when "early today" returns.

no matter how many times you see it, still so unbelievable. as that tornado touched down monday our own nbc affiliate kfor went into rolling coverage. as you can probably imagine. a dramatic view of what was happening on the scene as it was happening. here it goes. >> it is a mile wide debris cloud, it's a mile wide wedge, violent tornado. the only way you're going to guarantee you'll survive is if you're out of the way, below ground, storm cellar or basement.

>> this thing, it's huge. keep going left, travis. keep going left. right there, boom. there it is. there it is, mike, on the ground easily. >> right down 19. approaching santa fe. we had to bail out of it because it was coming right at us. we're getting ready to turn south here at south moore high school. >> you got to act. you can't think or delay. you got to act. and act. act to save your life and save your loved ones' lives. you've got to act. >> right there on the back side of the warren theater and you have, you know, lowe's right there. if you're in that area, you have somebody in that area, definitely get out of there. you can see those very intense power flashes. >> go, emily. >> mike, we're dropping cell. major, major wedge on the ground. >> the whole warren theater area i see very heavy, heavy debris in the air that has plumed up in the past couple of minutes from the shopping area. at the warren theater, no doubt there's tremendous destruction at that location. >> that tornado is physically on

the ground just destroying power lines and everything in its way. as you can see, big power flashes there, look at all that debris in the air. i mean, that debris, it's 500 or 600 feet up in the air and it's going. still on the ground. as you can see this thing has been decreased in size. i'm actually kind of getting a little closer than i want to be right now. this thing is sucking us in at about 50 to 60 miles per hour right now. it actually looks like it decreased a little bit. we lost a lot of the debris. it changed the shape of it. it's fizzling out as we're seeing it. i'll do another turn. i'm getting kind of far away. looks like it's roping out a little bit and it's over like 149th street and maybe just east side of air depot road. there it is. it's gone, mike. if you guys can see this, i don't know how to explain it, how to describe it. this is terrible.

this is war zone terrible. this school is completely gone. it is, like you see, completely destroyed as kids run up. hopefully they're loved ones. but this whole area right here, guys, is completely destroyed. >> some calm, cool, good reporting out of kfor. just want to show you a bit of that from overnight. just ahead, how the federal government is responding to the oklahoma tragedy. we'll go live to washington. the science behind tornado alley. bill karins returns. stay with us.

president obama declared five oklahoma counties major disaster areas and has spoken with the state's governor to offer assistance from the federal government. nbc's tracie potts joins us with more. good morning. >> reporter: richard, good morning. his message to the governor was if you need anything moesh whre what we're sending, call me directly. new information from the white house includes management teams, urban search and rescue teams, support, assistance teams, disaster assistance teams for people who have lost loved ones and lost homes in oklahoma. now, that's from fema, the federal emergency management agency. the president will be speaking later this morning, and we've learned that he is also going to be sending fema director craig fugate to oklahoma to oversee

that effort. the small business administration is getting involved. they've got damage assessment teams already on the ground to try to help those families get back on their feet. and survivor assistance teams which is going to be key for so many people in oklahoma who have lost loved ones, especially the parents of those children who have been killed. >> tracie potts, thank you. live in washington with the latest in terms of aid from the federal government. let's bring in nbc's bill karins. as we were talking at the top of the show, this idea of what is called -- so-called tornado alley. is this tornado alley? and what makes it different? >> central oklahoma, you know, kans kansas. we've had a lot of strong tornadoes in the last decade or two. especially down there in the southeast. alabama, mississippi and into areas even of georgia and tennessee's been hit hard, too. you know, you say tornado alley, this is probably the heart of it, i guess, is what most people

picture. >> what makes those areas more likely to have tornadoes? >> it's as simple as looking at the topography map. the maps that are raised, you can feel them, literally it's from the gulf northwards, they're smooth as could be and flat. it allows the warm air especially at night to ride up. we call that the nocturnal air stream. coming down from the rockies, the air is cooler. this is what was amazing. we've never really had a tornado this strong that we've followed this well. this is a time-lapse video that shows the storm from start to end. at this point right about there, it started doubling in size and getting bigger and bigger. we watched it from start to finish. it was crazy. >> bill karins, thank you so much. talking about that idea of tornado alley. i'm richard lui, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

at least 50 killed and entire neighborhoods destroyed in the massive twister made a direct hit on a hospital and an elementary school as well. at least 20 of the victims are children. the national weather service categorizes monday's storm as at least an ef-4. now, to give you an on-the-ground perspective, this is what yesterday's tornado looked like to one man, michael welsh. he watched it approach from a restaurant parking lot in a town just south of moore.

>> oh, my god! >> bill karins, i can't imagine what he was going through watching that as it came closer. and so huge. now, this part of oklahoma, of course, has been hit many times before, as bill karins has been telling us. a deadly storm hit the city in 1999 which the mayor says followed a very similar path to monday's twister. that one killed 36. the storm then generated the fastest winds ever recorded on earth. 318 miles an hour and caused nearly $1.5 billion in damage. any possibility we got close to this, bill? >> wind speeds are measured using a special doppler radar. no is the simple answer. >> in april 2011, a tornado that leveled much of tuscaloosa, alabama, was one of the worst in history with several ef-5

twisters. more than 320 people dead there from the college town of tuscaloosa all the way to kentucky and virginia. and just a few weeks later then joplin, missouri, was devastated by a tornado. city officials in joplin have sent a team of police and firefighters because they remember all the help that joplin received in 2011. one would think it wouldn't beat that recent story line we can all remember so well. unfortunately it claimed 158 lives, 200-plus-mile-an-hour winds and $1 billion to $3 billion. >> could be close. >> the joplin tornado, fifth deadliest since 1900, deadliest in the last 60 years. and bill, so much of that hype of that comparison, it really was a very, very severe storm we've seen overnight. coming up on "today," matt, savannah, al and natalie are all in moore with more on the devastation. i'm richard liu. thanks for watching "early

. . i had to hold on to the wall to keep myself safe, because i don't want to fly away in the tornado. >> simply doing whatever they can to survive. new video coming into our newsroom of the massive tornado that ripped through oklahoma. you can see right there, it looks like a rainbow. that is a tornado behind that causing destruction. >> here is a look at the devastation left behind. entire neighborhoods in the town were leveled. crews working through the night hoping to find survivors in that rubble. >> it has been so very, very hard to watch. it is 4:30. good morning. i'm jon kelley. i'm laura garcia-cannon.