but we're still the community of vilonia. we'll come back strong. >> reporter: for "nightline" i'm alex perez in vilonia, arkansas. >> be sure to tune in to "good morning america" tomorrow for a full report. up next, george clooney famously said he'd never marry again, until a mystery woman changed his mind. who is she? you've reached the age where you know how things work. this is the age of knowing what needs to be done. so why let erectile dysfunction get in your way? talk to your doctor about viagra. 20 million men already have. ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach, and abnormal vision. to avoid long- term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. this is the age of taking action. viagra. talk

among the places hardest hit, vilonia just north of little rock.th survivors. >> reporter: in vilonia fires now consume useless possessions. bare slabs stand where homes mark the spot where homes used to stand and residents sift thickets of junk for the important stuff left behind. a child's toy, picture albums, the family bible. and how long have you lived in this house? >> about four or five months. >> reporter: four or five months. >> uh-huh. >> reporter: dicky shannon and his wife mary jane had almost completed their home. the floor went in earlier this month, the driveway last week. so you're literally in the process of building. >> still in the process of trying to finish up, yes, sir. >> reporter: outside lies what's left of a collection of chevys dicky was restoring, including a '39 super deluxe he would drive to car shows. this is the living room? >> yeah, this is the living room. >> reporter: mary jane told us she had five minutes to get to the safe room they built. ten people rode it out in there. when you look around here, are you amaze

residents of vilonia, arkansas, feeling a sense of deja vu.d time in three years, a tornado has flattened sections of their town. george howell has made his way there. search and rescue efforts are still under way there. what is the latest, what are you seeing? >> wolf, let me set the scene. so a gentleman just a minute ago told me exactly what you said, three years ago, and he said three days ago, they went through this. here they are dealing with it again. we're getting closer access. obviously trying to respect people. they lost property, they lost homes and things that they had for many, many years. but we're starting to get a little closer into these communities. you look at what this tornado did. it went right through. tore through homes. snapped trees in half as if they were twigs. if we could pan over. you can see people are now going through these homes. they're trying to find out what's left over. you see the blue tarp there on top of the home. if you look at it, it looks like the tornado basically came over the road and basically we

dean reynolds is there. >> reporter: in vilonia, fires consume useless possessions. slabs mark the spot where homes used to stand and residents sift thickets of junk for the important stuff left behind-- a child's toy, picture albums, the family bible. and how long have you lived in this house? >> about four, five months. >> reporter: four, five months. >> uh-huh. >> reporter: dicky shannon and his wife, mary jane, had almost completed their home. the floor went in earlier this month, the driveway last week. so you're literally in the process of building-- >> still in the process of trying to finish up, yes, sir. >> reporter: outside lies what's left of a collection of chevys dicky was restoring, including a '39 super deluxe he would drive to car shows. this is the living room? >> yeah, this is the living room. >> reporter: mary jane told us she had five minutes to get to the safe room they built. 10 people rode it out in there. when you look around here are you amazed that nobody got hurt? >> oh, god took care of us. let me tell you. he had his hand over us. >> the

listen to what one witness found off a highway in vilonia,

ashley bridges is joining us live from vilonia, arkansas.horities have been busy ensuring another task, that the entire town stays on an overnight curfew to prevent looting. if you look at a neighboring state, millions of people are still bracing themselves for what happens if more tornadoes touchdown. >> it's moving to the right. >> reporter: this ominous sight is a wedge tornado, rolling in to northern mississippi. tupelo station, wtva was on the air when the tornado touched down. >> we're still on the air. >> reporter: the twister left a trail of destruction. in arkansas, homes and lives were tossed upside down after a powerful tornado tore through on sunday. >> we need to go around the back. >> some residents returned to their neighborhoods where their homes once stood. families sifting through the debris, salvaging whatever they could. more than a dozen people were killed when a powerful twister carved an 80-mile path of destruction through suburban little rock. the deadly tornado slammed in to the town of vilonia striking with enough f

first, dean reynolds in vilonia, arkansas. dean? >> reporter: scott, the tornado came right through here cutting a path of destruction that went on for at least 40 miles. >> oh, my gosh. >> reporter: the tornado that struck central arkansas was a half mile wide. >> my ears are popping. yeah, we're in it right now. we're in the tornado. >> reporter: in mayflower, near little rock, bob van byssum road out the 136 m.p.h. winds at home. >> it was about the scariest thing i have ever been through in my life. me, my wife, and the dog were in the bathroom and the house came down on us. >> reporter: raella faulkner was still shaking hours later. >> just heard this horrible rumble all around you. and the whole cellar filled up with dust. i've never seen anything like this. >> reporter: the tornado hit vilonia, arkansas, 15 minutes after mayflower. this is vilonia's main street. the town's new $14 million school is now a useless pile of rubble. it was designed as an intermediate school to serve grades four, five and six and it was suppose to

>> you know, vilonia was hit then as well.d. storms do what they do. >> what help do you need from the outside? i know arkansas is well prepared for this. unfortunately where you're situated in the country, you get hit by these storms all too often. do you need help from the outside? >> not at this time. sharing resources within the state, we've been on the phone with fema in the event we need any federal resources. though at this time i think it's covered. as the crews have a chance to see what's going on in the daylight, we'll know better. >> where are most of your assets being focused. most of the stories we've heard are coming out of mayflower and livonia. where is the biggest focus? >> i think both of those areas. >> we'll be focused on that as well. david maxwell, thank you so much for your time. a very busy, not just today, but many days ahead. thank you for jumping on the phone with us. michaela? >>> time for the five things to know for your new day. as you've been seeing, tornadoes have killed 18 people in three state

the tornado that tore through here in mayflower, arkansas and vilonia had a speed of 136 miles an hour. bemind me, it's enough to pulverize homes. this aerial pictures show the scale of damage in both towns. nick helped rescue a little girl thrown 50 feet from her home and continued to look for others. >> it was a deal we had to go from one to the next to the next and try to help the one that could be helped. >> reporter: in vilonia, people are trying to pick up pieces despite losing their home. this woman thanked crews who helped her salvage pictures of loved ones. >> memories i can put my hands on. my kids aren't home all the time anymore. >> reporter: recovery efforts could take weeks, even months. the governor of arkansas requested federal aid to clean up and rebuild. anne-marie? >> thank you in mayflower, arkansas. eric fisher says the severe weather will last into tomorrow. >> after a sad night with many deaths reported, destructive storms hitting several towns, it's going to be another long day for weather. we have storms ongoing. as we head toward the evening, the storms will f

you could not ask for a better son. >> still, a lot of cleanup go g ing on here in vilonia, and it is a devastating scene out here, and hundreds of people were out here including the national guard, and vilonia lost a $14 million school set to open in the fall, and right now the victims range from 7 years old to 72-year-old throughout arkansas. but again, the south is dealing with a potential for severe weather later today in parts of alabama and mississippi and here in arkansas, where they are cleaning up and will be for quite a while, tamron. >> thank you very much. let me bring in msnbc meteorologist bill karins, and he has an update for us. and bill, the meteorologists are saying that the atmosphere is going to reload, and explain what that means. >> yes, it is not what you want to hear, tamron. the clouds will take the charge out of the battery, but what recharges it is the moisture coming up from the south from the gulf, and of course, the sun. unfortunate lit over the area of concern today, we have perfectly sunny skies today, and the sun is full bore charging up the battery to

snapped trees and debris in downtown vilonia.ful storm to hit the nation so far this year. at this hour, an intense search and rescue effort is under way in the hard-hit town. >> it is a slow profession because we've got people and dogs going through the rubble and trying to find whoever we can and whatever we can. >> reporter: crews are digging through debris trying to find survivors after sunday's storm. but search efforts could hampered. another round of severe weather is possible. >> they did some search and rescue efforts very quickly and carefully, yes, but this morning, they started a very thorough and deliberate concentrated search and rescue effort. that's going to go through most of the day today. >> reporter: nearly 18,000 homes and businesses were without power monday in arkansas. most of them in faulkner county. >> we're going to experience gas leaks, power lines down. we have power out for most of the city now but you can never be too safe. >> reporter: vilonia was still recovering from deadly twister that hit almos

flattened home after home in towns like mayflower and vilonia.re searching right now for more victims. storm chaser brett adair joins us from arkansas. we were able to make a connection with you. we know you witnessed the tornado touchdown yesterday in mayflower. tell us what you saw and experienced. >> yesterday was a very somber day. we witnessed a tornado go through mayflower yesterday and unfortunately it did significant damage and caused injuries and fatalities in some of the areas we actually did search and rescue in. >> what was the scope of the devastation? we're seeing pictures right now of areas just simply flattened. as you were seeing it go through, how widespread was the damage? >> the damage was pretty widespread. i believe that half-mile path was accurate as it crossed i-40 in arkansas. we saw several mobile homes that were just completely destroyed. the frames were bent and smashed all around. as the tornado crossed i-40, several vehicles were thrown off the road. homes were damaged. to the northeast of vilonia, the storm seemed t

we heard reports around vilonia that homes were ripped off their foundations. that's how strong the system was, and you can see how powerful, as repeated events of tornado reports were out there. currently this morning, this is the concern, we still have tornado watch boxes out there and warnings. look at memphis, little rock, even towards shreveport, we have the concern that the severe weather is still ramping up currently. reason why, jet stream dips all the way down south here. combine that and there is a perfect storm. all the warm, moist air of the gulf, dry air behind it, a cold front making its way in and a low spinning more storms up towards iowa. all of these ingredients combine together to produce that severe risk out there. still looking at that today, even as the frontal system continues to push farther to the east. we'll be looking at this outlook to extend even through tomorrow. tomorrow just a slight risk, so conditions will improve, but of course, we have today to get through first in through tomorrow. we'll start to see the threat even through

>> this video shows homes and businesses ripped from their foundations, snapped trees in downtown vilonia hit the area so far this year. at this hour, an intense search is under way. >> we've got people and dogs going through the rubble and trying to find whoever we can and whatever we can. >> reporter: crews are digging through debris trying to find survivors after sunday's storm, but search efforts could be hampered. another round of severe weather is possible. >> this morning they started a very thorough and deliberate concentrated search and rescue effort that is going to go through most of the day today. >> reporter: nearly 18,000 homes and businesses were without power on monday in arkansas. most of them in faulkner county. >> we have power out for most of the city right now but you can never be too safe. >> reporter: vilonia was still recovering from the last tornado that hit almost three years ago killing four people in town. many of the buildings destroyed last night had only recently been rebuilt. >> the really sad thing is that there's a lot of homes that were hit this time and

the really tragic part of last night was that when it hit vilonia, it was already dark so the image thatd parked in this devastated neighborhood was it looked like war refugees, coming out of the darkness towards our truck light and all manner of injuries and dazed and confused and people just in a state of shock really. so we literally just parked the truck for the next five hours and we worked with other volunteers on getting first aid and searching homes and rescue -- >> i understand there was a dad who was in a bathtub with his children? what was that story? >> yeah. there was one father we talk to. we were giving him some assistance. he was cut pretty badly and he survived because he took his three little girls and he put them in the bathtub. this bathtub ended up out of his house, out on the street. he says they were in the air and all of them survived. he was brought to tears. it was a remarkable experience. there was one moment where we actually were lifting rubble off of a house and there were three families trapped in a cellar underneath. the look on their face when they came o

the violent storms killed ten people in vilonia and nearby mayflower. >> what vilonia needs now is prayer. prayer and just support. >> reporter: it's all some families have left as they are left to pick up the pieces. as you might imagine, people in these communities will take any good news they can get. meteorologists predict the chance for severe weather will slowly begin to taper off. we do know parts of georgia also expecting some severe weather. in the meantime, folks are back to cleaning. tori? >> all right. polo sandoval, thank you. >> all right, tori. >>> 7:17. back here at home, muni service according to a new report has gotten better. the new report shows on-time performance was up from 57.4% back in october. it's not close to a voter mandated goal of 85% imposed in 1999. the report shows that service gaps have been reduced. muni still has challenges including mechanical failures and aging subway infrastructure and a shortage of operators. >>> well, today, you can, once again, get a sneak peek at the b.a.r.t. car of the future. it will be on display at the north berkeley b.a.r.t

their parents moved to vilonia, arkansas this past fall so their sons could attend school there. both daniel and april were seriously injured when a tornado leveled their home leaving virtually nothing behind. today april learned both of her sons were killed when the four of them tried to take cover inside. >> they lit up the room wherever and however they were. you knew they were there. and they are just great kids. >> reporter: also among the dead, 31-year-old daniel wassum the arkansas national guard airman, an iraq veteran died in his home as he shielded his two young daughters from falling debris. his wife and the girls survived. >> a great dad he was. he really loved those girls. loved his wife. what a great son he was, you know. couldn't ask for a better son. >> reporter: today his father searched the wreckage for any keepsakes he could find. >> he was a good boy, guys. i wish you knew him. >> reporter: back here in tupelo, some apprehension, about an hour ago the sky got dark, skies opened up but fortunately it remains quiet at least here. >> this is tough going, lester t

around vilonia, some of the houses were leveled completely down to the foundation.ings the thought that these could be ef-4 or ef-5 tornadoes. of course, the national weather service needs to survey the damage today and say whether or not that is the case. one of the places, around mayflower. the pink is a debris ball. you can see that signature on the radar itself as it did make its way across. this morning, still looking at tornado watch boxes. the danger is still out there. memphis, little rock, even out towards shreveport, we still have tornado watch areas as the instability continues in the afternoon and we will see that rise. we have the warm, moist air, dry air behind it, the low making its way across. all the elements are coming together here for another day of even a moderate risk. so, the enhanced risk is out there today. over about 3 million of you, from huntsville back in through jackson. but notice many of you are still in the slight risk area, so we're still looking from indianapolis back in through louisiana for the threat for severe weather today as

farm town, and yesterday in the space of 10 minutes, two towns were severely damaged, mayflower and vilonia. there are as many as 16 people believed to be dead, and that search and rescue is continuing this morning. i am standing in a rv sales park, and there were 14-large bus-type mobile homes here for sale. i can see two of them. the rest are shattered and splintered and scattered into the nearby woods. this town of 1,200 is a farming community, and if this storm had just missed by maybe a half mile, it either direction, it would have missed the entire town. it is sounded by water. to the south is the arkansas river, and 230 t nnd to the nor east are fields, but as i say, faulkner county is the most unlu unluckiest place right now with two towns sadly suffering. >> and charles, looking at the damage in this video, what are they doing as far as people in shelter, and accommodations, and this is still early, and it is still sinking in the reality of what is happening there, and the children and the other folks who rim pacted and what is the shelter right now? >> well, the operation right no

having visited vilonia and mayflower twice, i keep hearing stories that are scary, at the same time i hear heroic stories. stories of people living through the tornado being just overhead. miracles, really. but people are picking up the pieces. red cross is fully engaged, and this is going to be a long process. i can tell you that i was in vilonia three years ago, three years and two days before the other night. it was a significant hit. but compared to this one, i don't think there is a comparison. this one seems to be and it sounds like the data backs it up, much stronger than the one that hit vilonia three years ago. vilonia was building a brand-new school, just finishing it up and it was directly hit before anyone was even in it. so in mayflower you see the same sort of destruction. but the recovery -- people sorting through their belongings, trying to piece their lives back together, that has begun. what is most heartbreaking is when you see the toys, and you see the signs of everyday life and you think that on sunday morning, these folks got up, they went to church. they drove i

the main tornado coming down across portions of mayflower, extensive damage from there toward viloniao the north and east. want to show you video. this video just coming in to share with you, to show you how extensive this storm system and the tornado was. reports put it at a half a mile wide, or .8 kilometers wide. incredible tornado. very few places on our planet can support a storm to get this strong, this extensive. mass casualties reported over much of this region once the storm system passed through portions of mayflower on into vilonia. and again, this storm system we know when you pad this sort of a damage that we saw on the ground with this ef3 scale sort of damage, winds upwards of, say, 200-plus miles per hour possible with such storms coming down. there it is. little rock, capital city of the state of arkansas. about 22 miles to the north is mayflower, population here 2,3 hupp people. 24 miles to the north and east is vilonia, population here 3,800 people. tornado on the ground from that point all the way to this point. and when you see the scale of the damage left behind

nbc's gabe gutierrez is there in vilonia, gabe, tell us the danger isn't over. meteorologists are warning the atmosphere is reloading to produce more storms and super cells throughout the afternoon. where are they headed next? >> reporter: hi, there, ronan, here in arkansas, the rain has stayed away which is a good thing for the residents trying to clean up. other parts of the country could see severe weather today into tomorrow and deep south extending to the carolinas and tomorrow even the mid-atlantic states. as you mentioned, the president just signed this federal disaster declaration which will open up federal funding to this area where in arkansas 15 people died, eight of them in vilonia alone. debris is still everywhere and it's going to take a long time to clear this up. this is aspen creek drive. this neighborhood was full of military families and you can see pretty much everywhere you look an american flag on top of the rubble here. you managed to speak with the father of one of the victims, his son was 31 years old and in arkansas air national guard a

vilonia senior center is also a shelter for vilonia as well as mayflower, even the homeowners are not allowed to come in at the moment. last night there was kind of a cursory nighttime search and res key effort by all of the emergency responders and law enforcement. today they are getting started in daylight hours with a very detailed, thorough search and rescue effort. that's why a perimeter around both of these towns so that when people are coming in, unless you can show i.d. and give them a valid reason to be there, then you're not going to be let in. volunteers will be welcome at a certain point, but now i'm afraid is not the time. search and rescue efforts are still happening. and as long as we have personal -- emergency personnel on the scene and as long as we have power lines down, we're asking citizen volunteers to stay where they are. we'll let you know, we'll vo another press conference and let you know when people can come in and volunteer. there will be a time. just not yet. >> do you believe there are people still alive in parts of these subdivisions? >> i believe so. we'

in vilonia, block after block of pure devastation.udy garrett and her husband robert escaped to their tornado safe room as the storm approached. 15 minutes later, they tried to get out. >> we opened the door and we couldn't get out. >> reporter: they were blocked in by debris. they emerged to find their home and entire neighborhood flattened. >> opened the safe room door, and all i could see was the truck and the boat and sky. should have been a roof there. >> reporter: the garretts only have this purse and the few items they were able to get into the safe room. and after losing everything, they say they have what matters most. >> we're so thankful god spared our lives. >> reporter: and there are piles of rubble just like this one everywhere you look. there's actually a car underneath all of this. you look around here and talk to people. they don't understand why the damage is so severe. a lot of the homes are made of brick. you'll see personal belongings scattered all over the place. things they care about. one of the buildings that

right now, we're in the tornado" >> woodruff: from there, the twister moved down the road to nearby vilonia, north of little rock. >> as i was driving back i saw nothing but black, it was huge and i saw the rotation. >> woodruff: the tornado touched down off-and-on for almost 80 miles, leaving destruction along an already well-beaten path. >> three years and two days ago we were hit by an ef2 tornado, practically the same path, in fact this ran right along the side where the other one came, cut about 6 1/2 miles long >> woodruff: this morning, in the light of day, the scope of destruction came fully into view. metal wrapped around tree limbs that had been hacked off in the high winds; homes left with no rooftops; cars twisted and bent; and amid all this, rescue teams, searching the wreckage for survivors. >> we've got people and dogs going through the rubble and trying to find whoever we can and whatever we can. >> woodruff: the national guard and the federal emergency management agency were on the ground to assist, and president obama pledged more federal help. governor mike beebe sized th

the national weather service says the tornado that hit here in mayflower, arkansas and in nearby vilonia on sunday likely had winds greater than 136 miles per hour. it flattened entire neighborhoods. these aerial images show the scale of damage in both towns. nick naylor helped rescue a little girl who was thrown at least 50 feet from her mayflower home and he continued to help look for others. >> i mean it was just one of those deals that we had to go from one to the next to the next to the next and try to help the ones that could be helped. >> reporter: in vilonia, people are trying to pick up the pieces despite losing their homes. this woman thanked crews who helped her salvage pictures of loved ones. >> memories i can actually put my hands on. >> reporter: omar villafranca, cbs news, mayflower, arkansas. >> forecasters are warning people in georgia about the threat of tornadoes as the storm system moves eastward. severe weather is also possible in florida and the carolinas. >>> the plaitest developments in sunday's midair collision over san pablo bay. the missing plane has been found

first to you, gabe, the situation in vilonia after what you went through yesterday. >> reporter: some states to the east brace for more potential severe weather today. here in arkansas we're getting preliminary reports from the national weather service that the tornado that tore through here on sunday night was a powerful ef-3, that's a tornado with winds of at least 136 miles per hour but the damage assessment is still ongoing. thankfully today we've seen the rain stay away and so friends and families and volunteers have been able to sift through the rubble. we're here on aspen creek drive. you can see how powerful this tornado was. debris pretty much everywhere. aspen creek drive, this neighborhood had a lot of military families living here. we've been hearing their stories as we've been here since yesterday. spoke with michelle ma gee here a year and a half. and spoke with a man who lost a lot. his son was part of the arkansas air national guard and he told us on sunday his son, dan wasen, the second was in his home just down the block and with his wife and two young daughters, age

dean reynolds is in vilonia, arkansas, an area where that tornado killed at least ten people. dean, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. well, there's a curfew in the town of vilonia in effect until later today to guard against looting. but we managed to get inside the police barricades yesterday to see the full extent of the destruction. main street in vilonia was reduced to a twisted mess, leveled by powerful 130-plus-mile-an-hour winds. >> we're in it right now. we're in a tornado. >> reporter: the massive twister tore through nearly 30 miles of the region late sunday. >> was this the whole thing here, this building? >> this was our therapy clinic. >> reporter: tommy bates found his physical therapy clinic in ruins. he had spent the night in a city shelter with his family. when the worst of the storm passed, he learned he had lost his home. >> a family of three came crawling in covered in debris, covered in blood. they were neighbors of mine. that's when i knew this was real. >> reporter: your house and your business were ruined? >> yes, sir. >> reporter: down the road,

voluntarios en la ciudad de vilonia, arkansas guiados de linternas, se pasaron la madrugada entre losasas, buscando seÑales de vida. " mark banks dice que la tormenta sonaba como un tren afuera de su casa. el y su familia sobrevivieron. otros en su zona no corrieron la misma suerte. en misuri este camin no pudo con los vientos del tornado que lo dej volcado en una carretera. durante su gira en asia el presidente barack obama dio su sentido psame a las familias de las vctimas de la tormenta y prometi ayuda del gobierno federal para las zonas afectadas. segn advierte el servicio nacional de meteorologa podran verse an ms tormentas elctricas esta noche en los estados afectados. todo mientras apenas comienza la temporada de tornados. roll weather open cesar momento del pronostico del tiempo blanca con javier castro pkg take pkg cesar tiempo de una nueva pausa cesar tiempo de una nueva pausa comercial en noticiero telemundo 48 pero al regresar take vo --no le alcanz el tiempo para registrarse en covered california y es bajos ingresos? --mas adelante le decimos cmo podra usted recibir ayuda

the devastation in vilonia was especially tough. the town was hit by a tornado three years ago. many homes just recently were rebuilt. >> the downtown is completely leveled. there's a few buildings partially standing but the amount of damage is tremendous. >> in kansas a tornado tore through the town of baxter springs, injuring at least 25 people and destroying more than 100 homes. the twister caused eight miles of damage and surprised many residents. >> the next thing i know my little brother pushing everybody in the bed and getting on top of the mattress. we hear nothing but windows breaking, wood going through the walls. >> the threat isn't over yet. strong storms and possible tornadoes are expected in the southeast for the next few days. it's important to repeat this weather system has not finished doing damage. martin savidge is in tupelo. we are also in mayflower, arkansas. martin, let's start with you. what's the situation in tupelo right now? >> reporter: well, anderson, tupelo right now they are holding their breath and literally trying to figure out how badly they have

. >> the scene in nearby vilonia, cars turned upside down. >> i saw some of the biggest trees turned upside down, houses set on top of cars, the cars and the garage in the yard it's a mess. >> in northeast oklahoma emergency crews spent the nightt rifling through debris. >> i said tornado and just about that time everything was hitting. >> reporter: you can see the path of devastation forged near the powerful twister near the town of quapa. storm system slammed into north carolina, multiple tornadoes across the central and eastern parts of the state destroyed more than 200 homes and killed an 11 month old boy. >> it broke my heart because i lost everything. thank the lord for not having me here because i probably wouldn't be standing here right now. >> as some communities begin to pick up the pieces others brace for the next storm to hit. since this storm isn't over yet. erica pizzzi, al jazeera. >> the sports world and beyond reacting to racist comments made by the owner of the l.a. clippers. >> if you want to broadcast that you're associating with black people, you have to -- for t

, killing.the people as i mentioned and causing problems not only in mayflower but down the road, vilonia was hit by a tornado on the same track on april 25th, 2011. four were killed that day, that was an ef-2. a lot of cleanup under way here in this central arkansas area. the severe weather has moved off to the south and east. and we're going to be in much better shape weatherwise today here in little rock area. betty, back to you. >> mike, thank you. >>> and meteorologist bill karins is here. deadly, just devastating. not over, right? >> we do this every year, but just doesn't matter. every time you see the pictures and images, it is the power of these things is just -- just mind boggling. can't comprehend it. we had 31 tornado reports, probably going to be less than that. a lot of those were the same tornadoes spotted down there and the mike seidel was at. nebraska, iowa, missouri, kansas, one in areas of mississippi, one in northern louisiana, but by far, the worst damage that occurred was the -- from the storm that was right there in arkansas. now, in all, with that, about two, two a

. >> reporter: inville villagrana in vilonia, people are asking for help. president obama will get federal aid to those who need it most. adriana diaz, cbs news, duncanville, alabama. >> at least 34 people have been killed in tornadoes and the midwest since sunday. >>> the father of the stowaway teen from santa clara is in honolulu to bring back his 15- year-old son, yahya abdi. he wanted to see his mother in a refugee camp in africa. in an interview with betty yu, his siblings said he was smart but troubled who ran away from time to time but not like this. >> we wish him come back maybe like this week or next week. and don't do something like that again or worse. >> his brother and sister say they want to through yahya a big party to welcome him home. >>> a livermore golf instructor accused of molesting three teenaged boys allegedly tried to hire a hit man from his jail cell to kill them. he is at the santa rita jail. prosecutors say he told an undercover officer to make the murders look like robberies gone bad. he was arrested last december on the molesta

these first pictures are from vilonia arkansas; >> reporter:this is a google earth image of what looks like a small fire station that sits between a road and a creek..this is before the tornado... here's video of the same spot taken on monday... the building has been completely flattened. its pretty much a pile of rubble sitting in the creek and there's debris scattered everywhere. >> reporter:right across the street from that spot is a gas station...this is google street view of how the station looked before.. here's another angle from above.... and this is how the same location looks now. the roof over the gas pumps has been torn off.. there's paneling everywhere... this is a ground view of the same building. >> reporter:a few miles away in mayflower arkansas, there's also heavy damage. this is a google earth view of a business before the tornado. there are warehouses here and lots of equipment. and this is video taken monday.. most of the warehouse has collapsed and the sign out front has been ripped apart... >> reporter:now about 200 miles to the northwest, another tornado touched

the chief of police in hard-hit vilonia, arkansas. i asked him earlier to describe the damage he has seen. >> widespread. it's houses completely down to the foundations. a lot worse than it was three years ago. >> and i know you've seen many tornados and storms come through that area in your time as police chief. what is the status of the recovery today? are you still considering this a rescue operation? >> yes. as soon as it gets daylight, we're going to go through searching one more time to see if we can -- if we missed anybody. >> the sheriff in your county called this, quote, a mass casualty situation. as far as you know, how many lives have been lost? how many have been injured? >> i'm not sure out in the county. we've got six in the city. i know that's -- the number is a lot higher. >> this happened late yesterday. do you feel that folks in your community had sufficient warning? did the tornado sirens go off? >> yes. the storm warnings went out fairly early. i went to a tornado shelter myself with my family. which was a couple m

the damage in vilonia, arkansas, residents there. this tornado came after another one followed the same path three years ago. an elderly man is dead after a fire in the west town neighborhood. >> judy joins us live. >> police are still here this morning interviewing attendance at the red cross is here to insure everyone has clothing and places to stay. the man who was killed has lived on the top floor of the building. neighbors tell us he was in poor health and needed help getting around. the fire broke out in the 1900 block of west ohio at 10:45 p.m.. it started in one building then spread to the next. when firefighters got the call they learned there was someone trapped inside. when crews arrived this is smoke was coming out the front of the building. they found the man in the front room of the top floor in critical condition. he was brought to the hospital later pronounced dead. tenants say a loud pop woke him up. >> i remember a loud noise like an explosion and then after that i came out of the neighbors said the house was on fir

this is what's left of a veteran's long-term care facility in the tone of vilonia after a twister barreled. as the storm settled in, the facility's teen manager jumped to action. he joins me now. great work on your behalf. what was it about your quick thinking to get these men and women safe? >> we have ten guys. and it's always our priority to take the best care of them that we can possibly do. our guys have risked a lot. it's a great opportunity for us to help them out. >> i know that you had established some sort of an evacuation plan which is always smart when you live in these areas of the country where tornadoes seem to hit. so did you actually leave your own personal home to go make sure that they were safe or were you already there? >> i was already at the facility. i work the night shift there as well. and i was there just to watch -- we were keeping an eye on the weather. >> it's my understanding that you take these veterans and you get them in a vehicle because you really didn't have any kind of a storm shelter at the actual center. what did you do? >> that's correct. we take ou

one of those twisters tore an 80-mile path through the town of vilonia while other deaths were reported iowa. joining me is jay gray, in mayflower arkansas. thanks for joining me. what does the recovery look like today? >> it looks like it's going to be very difficult, as you would imagine. we want to give you a firsthand look. i'm standing in the doorway of what was an auto and rv sales center. you can see this debris. believe it or not, three people inside this building. as the storms moved in, they rushed through the structure and to this area. through this door and down into the basement, even took a stray cat. everybody survived. when they came out very little left, and virtually nothing left of the 60 recreational vehicles that filled this parking lot, just twisted metal respect shattered glass. faulkner county, arkansas likely the hardest hit. there are ten confirmed deaths, there's concern from the officials that number could grow as they continue their search and recovery evidence here, alex. >> thank you, jay gray with the latest. >>> coming up, congress has finally sauntered

meanwhile, back in mayflower and vilonia, arkansas, devastated by sunday's tornadoes, people have returned to what's left of their homes, hoping to salvage what they can. >> my great grandma gave this to my grandma when she was 12, my grandma gave it to my mama when she was 12, mama gave it to me when i was 12, and i have my first granddaughter, i was going to give it to her and it's not even cracked and it still has the jewelry in it. >> woodruff: other small signs of survival emerged as well, including a baby chick, found unharmed, in the wreckage of a home. >> woodruff: three people are in critical condition this evening after a package handler opened fire at a fed-ex sorting center outside atlanta. he wounded six people before taking his own life. police swarmed the building after reports of gunfire came in before six this morning. they said the man used a shotgun and had explosive devices, but did not use them. in syria, more than 50 people died today in a series of attacks. scores more were wounded. the worst was in the central city of homs, where two car bombs exploded in a pro-gove

another hard-hit town vilonia is called a mass casualty situation. >> i came up to get my wife, and sheoor saying it is sucking that way, and i said, it sounds like a freight train, baby, come on, and when we got down into the basement, it went crazy, and we started praying. >> it is gone, everything. >> i was not expecting this. >> right here is where i was going to go to work. was going to be my first day. it is destroyed. >> i went to the tornado shelter myself, and the my family which was a couple of miles away from where we were, and a lot of the people from the community was the there. it did work, and if you can see the destruction that is here, even though we have lost some lives, there are many lives saved because of the storm warnings. >> the governor is tour ing tin storm warnings, and president obama is sending condolences from his trip in asia. >> i want everybody known affected by the tragedy knows that fema and the federal government is on the ground, and your country will be there to help you recover and rebuild as long as it takes. >> and now joining us is charles key w

george howell joins me now from vilonia. >> reporter: what was it like to be in a storm shelter.storm basically passing over. she saw all of this. what you see here, going over her head, she was down in this basement. when you look around here you see how strong the winds were, strong enough to knock over this heavy equipment, to push trucks and, you know, all this debris every where and when you look back there you see a community that really has been levelled. in fact, you know, it happened just about this time yesterday, about 7:00. that's when the tornado came through. we know that at least ten people were killed in this county alone, anderson, within three states, arkansas, iowa and oklahoma a total of 16 people were killed. >> just looks incredible. how large a swath of destruction is that? >> reporter: well, when you look at this, you know, if we can just kind of pan around and show this seems to be the path the tornado took. in fact going across the road over there, crossing through this community, leveling those homes and i want goes for at least, from what we can tell,

. >> reporter: in vilonia, arkansas, one of the states hardest hit this week, volunteers are showingwith clean-up efforts. >> we have had a tremendous outpouring of love and help. >> reporter: president obama has declared a major disaster in the state to get federal aid to those who need it most. adriana diaz, cbs news, duncanville, alabama. >> and this information just into our newsroom now. a woman was killed in the florida flooding after she drove into high water. at least 34 people were killed in tornadoes in the south and the midwest since sunday. >>> new this morning, demonstrators clash with police in brazil during violent protests. [ non-english language ] >> they burned trash and portable tots in downtown sue paulo. the protestors want a better tougher protection. >>> we have a little update now on the little cute 13-week-old bear cup left for dead in humboldt county. we first introduced you to tahoe the bear earlier this month. a good samaritan found her and now she has the run of the house and appears to be a very happy bear cub. she eats four times a day and is very busy

>> may fp flower right and we had vilonia. >> there is the picture where you can see the path it cuthoughts and families are with the families of the 14 lost in your state. thank you for talking to us. >> thank you for your concern. >>> on the clippers owner here is charles barkley: >> he has to be suspended. if someone wants to be racist that is there thing. but when you take jobs and economic things from people that crosses the line. we cannot have an nba owner discriminateing against the league. we are a black league. >> many are calling for sterling to be thrown out. jim gray is here. and i am i am read thing by-laws that govern the players doesn't mean they can force him out. if that is the case what do you think will happen? >> suspended indefinitely, and fined up to a million dollars. at the ends of the day when the sponsors and fans don't pay for it you will have the ultimate thing and that is players won't come. what players will come play for the los angeles clippers? the players drafted have to come but everybody else will not and that will be undoing unless steps forward.

we are on main street in vilonia. this was the water works building. side of this driveway. that garage is now gone. the family who lived in this home, they tell us the only reason they survived is they were able to run to their backyard and duck in their underground storm shelter. right now we're seeing police national guard troops also helping to secure this area looking for any buildings that may not have been searched last night. >> manuel thank you. >>> meanwhile take a look at this tornado in hu uchlthume, missouri. no injuries and only one damaged building. another twister killed one in quapaw. this morning the storm front is moving toward the lower mississippi valley. meteorologist megan glaros of wbbm is tracking this morning's threat. megan, good morning. >> good morning to you. yes, we are looking at dangerous storms again today through the entire day but ramping up into the latter half of the afternoon and the evening with the possibility of nighttime tornados as well which are especially dangerous. we see a slight risk from the midwest all

and then a big tornado in vilonia, arkansas, daniel wassom was protecting his family.. the ultimate sacrifice to protect the people they love from these really massive storms and tornados. >> they come so quickly. you don't know when or where they're coming. >> and we're going to have more on the flooding late bit later on. but those stories just two of the number of stories that just break your heart. >> absolutely. >> our hearts go out to all those affected and impacted. >> no question. we're thinking about you and your families this morning. >>> some other news to tell you about. perhaps you've heard by now, the nba has banned los angeles clippers owner donald sterling for life and fined him the maximum allowable $2.5 million. sterling was accused and now proven to have made racist remarks to his then girlfriend, audio recordings that were posted on "tmz" sports and deadspin. here's what new nba commissioner adam silver had to say about sterling yesterday afternoon. >> effective immediately, i am banning mr. sterling for life from any association with the clippers o

this boxer roy was reunited with his owners in vilonia after they posted a plea online saying please help us find our sweet and loving boxer. now roy and family are back together. so let us know, send your pictures, and i guess with the #orangeroom, just your thoughts, letting the people know in arkansas and mississippi and the areas impacted by this that we are all there with them this morning. >> all right, tamron, thank you very much. >>> coming up, we're going to have some new fallout over this disturbing incident. what the dad who kicked his own son down a skateboarding ramp is now saying about his actions. >>> then, exclusive new video from the deadliest disaster ever on mount everest. we will talk to a man who was there and witnessed this tragedy. but first, this is "today" on nbc. was there and witnessed this tragedy. but first, this is "today" on nbc. latte or au lait? cozy or cool? "meow" or "woof"? exactly the way you want it... until boom, it's bedtime! your mattress is a battleground of thwarted desire. enter the all-new sleep number classic series. designed to let coupl