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116 killed after tornado roars through Missouri
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116 people have died in the US state of Missouri, after a monstrous tornado roared through the city of Joplin. The casualty count is still expected to climb, as search and rescue teams scour the rubble for survivors and victims.
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A man stands amid the remains of a Wal-Mart store, after it was hit by a tornado, in Joplin, Missouri May 22, 2011. |
A flash and a boom provided immense visual and audio effects, as a vicious tornado slammed into the city of Joplin. The twister cut a path nearly 10 kilometers long, and more than a 1 kilometer wide, through the southwest Missouri city.
The system ripped into a hospital, crushing cars like tin cans, and leaving a forest of splintered tree trunks behind, where entire neighborhoods once stood.
The task for rescuers has been made even more miserable, as a thunderstorm bringing strong, gusty winds and heavy rain, pelted part of the area with hailstones.
Joplin City manager Mark Rohr said, "This tornado went through a major residential part of our city, and damaged a large commercial district in the range line area of the city, before it moved out of Joplin. Many homes and buildings have suffered extensive damage, with many being a total loss. We know many people are hurting at this time. It is, indeed, a sad day in Joplin."
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A deadly tornado struck Joplin, a city of 50,000 people in the southwest corner of Missouri of U.S. Sunday night, killing at least 116 people and leaving churches, schools, and homes reduced to ruins. |
Much of Joplin's south side was leveled, with churches, schools, businesses, and homes reduced to ruins.
Official estimate 25 percent to 30 percent of the city has been damaged. An unknown number of people were injured during the storm.
Authorities also conducted a door-to-door search of the damaged area. US President Barack Obama called the state's governor to "extend his condolences" to impacted families. The Federal Emergency Management Agency head was on his way to the disaster zone on Monday morning, to help with recovery.
The Missouri tornado is the latest in a string of powerful twisters to wreak death and devastation across the American Midwest in recent weeks.
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