For local coverage of Monday's devastating storms in Oklahoma go to these CNN affiliates KFOR KOCO KOKH KOKI
(CNN) At least 51 people including at least 20 children were killed when a massive tornado struck an area outside Oklahoma City on Monday afternoon officials said.
Read more Heartbreaking scenes in Oklahoma City after disaster
Seven of those children were killed at Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore Oklahoma according to a police official.
Early Tuesday emergency personnel continued to scour the school's rubble a scene of twisted I beams and crumbled cinder blocks.
The tornado was estimated to be at least two miles wide at one point as it moved through Moore in the southern part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area KFOR reported.
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As dawn breaks storm clouds roll in over a devastated neighborhood on Tuesday May 21 after a massive tornado ripped through Moore Oklahoma on Monday. The death toll continues to climb as rescuers search for survivors. The tornado was estimated to be at least two miles wide at one point as it moved through Moore in the southern part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area KFOR reported. It was part of a tornado outbreak that began in the Midwest and Plains on Sunday May 19. View more photos of the aftermath in the region. Members of the Oklahoma National Guard look for survivors in rubble in Moore on May 21. A National Guardsman assists in the search for victims on May 21. Teachers lead children away from Briarwood Elementary School after a massive tornado destroyed the building in Oklahoma City on May 20. A fire official drives through the rubble of Moore Medical Center on May 20. Abby Madi left and Peterson Zatterlee comfort Zatterlee's dog Rippy on Monday May 20 in Moore. A woman is treated for her injuries on May 20 at a triage area set up for the wounded. Two girls stand in rubble in Moore. Rescue workers help free one of more than a dozen people who were trapped at a medical center in Moore on May 20. Oklahoma City firefighters check on Gene Tripp on May 20 as he sits in his rocking chair where his home once stood. A nurse helps an older man who suffered a head injury on May 20 in Moore. Cars marked with an orange X meaning they have been checked for occupants are piled up in front of the entrance to the damaged Moore Medical Center on May 20. A teacher hugs a student at Briarwood Elementary School in Oklahoma City on May 20. People look through the wreckage of their neighborhood after a tornado struck Moore Oklahoma on May 20. Dana Ulepich searches inside a room left standing at the back of her destroyed house in Moore on May 20. Residents look through the debris in Moore on May 20. A man looks through the remains of a home after the massive tornado struck Moore on May 20. A woman is transported on a stretcher after she was rescued from the damaged medical center in Moore on May 20. A woman walks through debris in Moore on May 20. A man is taken away from the IMAX Theater in Moore that was used as a triage center on May 20. A girl wraps herself in a blanket near the Moore Hospital on May 20. A nurse walks by the destruction at a Moore hospital on May 20. Destroyed cars scatter the landscape in Moore Oklahoma where hundreds of homes and buildings were put to ruin on May 20. A woman with an arm injury is helped on May 20 in Moore. Extensive damage from an EF4 tornado destroyed cars and demolished structures in Moore on May 20. Onlookers stop to view a portion of the destruction left behind on May 20 in Moore. Overturned cars are among the rubble from the tornado that hit Moore on May 20. A woman is comforted after the May 20 tornado in Moore. A shredded tree stands amid debris in the aftermath of the storm in Moore on May 20. A shopping center parking lot is covered with debris and damaged cars on May 20. Law enforcement officers block a roadway in Moore where there was extensive damage from the tornado. A massive tornado approaches Moore on May 20. The storm first touched down to the west of the city near Newcastle Oklahoma. Visit CNN.com/impact for ways to help the victims. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 Photos Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area Tornado hits Moore Medical Center Disaster from the sky in Oklahoma Deadly tornado's destructive path
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Oklahoma first and foremost needs donations to rebuild after tornadoes slammed the state Gov. Mary Fallin told CNN on Tuesday.
More than 40 000 customers remain without power Tuesday after a powerful tornado slammed the Oklahoma City region a utility spokesman said. More than half of those customers were in the heavily damaged suburb of Moore according to Brian Alford a spokesman for Oklahoma Gas Electric.
Glenn Lewis the mayor of tornado ravaged Moore Oklahoma told CNN on Tuesday the rescue effort is continuing and we're very optimistic we might find one or two people.
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Previously reported
Personnel have rescued 101 people from rubble in metropolitan Oklahoma City after a tornado hit the area Monday Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management representative Terri Watkins said Tuesday morning. Watkins cited an Oklahoma Highway Patrol tally of rescues from all agencies.
Pakistan and Spain are the latest countries to issue condolences to the people affected by the deadly Oklahoma tornado. We are particularly grieved over the loss of innocent children and their teachers who were buried under the rubble the Pakistan government said. The Spanish government said the Spanish people at these tragic times feel even closer to the American people and share their pain.
Some of the children killed at Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore Oklahoma during Monday's storm drowned in a basement area there Oklahoma Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb told CNN Tuesday morning. My understanding this school ... Plaza Towers they had a basement. Quite frankly don't mean to be graphic but that's why some of the children drowned because they were in the basement area he said. Officials have said the storm killed at least seven children at the school.
Queen Elizabeth II sent her condolences to those affected by Monday's massive deadly Oklahoma tornado saying on Twitter Our deepest sympathies go out to all those whose lives have been affected as well as the American people Oklahoma tornado.
Pope Francis urged people to join him in praying for the families of those who died in the massive tornado in central Oklahoma on Monday especially those who lost young children he said in a tweet Tuesday.
President Barack Obama will make a statement at approximately 10 a.m. ET after he is briefed on the aftermath of the Oklahoma tornado devastation a White House official told CNN. The statement will be delivered in the State Dining Room.
French President Francois Hollande expressed his grief over the casualties caused by the ferocious Oklahoma tornado and saluted the mobilization of citizens who tackled this exceptional situation with courage and determination.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel passed along her condolences to President Obama over the casualties and destruction caused by the mammoth tornado that tore through Oklahoma on Monday. The pictures of this catastrophe render us speechless and can only hint at the scope of the hurt Merkel told the president Tuesday.
The Oklahoma Medical Examiner's Office has been told to expect about 40 additional bodies including about 20 children according spokeswoman Amy Elliott. The official death toll of 51 will not rise until the bodies are processed she said. The current toll already includes at least 20 children who were killed by the storm.
At least 145 people have been hospitalized in the Oklahoma City hospital officials said.
The Children's Hospital at OU Medical Center received 45 children for treatment on Monday according Dr. Roxie Albrecht.
The threat of severe weather shifts to the southeast on Tuesday covering parts of north Texas southwest Arkansas and northwest Louisiana the National Weather Service said.
The city of Moore Oklahoma has no running water Mayor Glenn Lewis told CNN on Monday evening. It was uncertain when water service would be restored.
Texas is sending the state's elite search and rescue team Texas Task Force 1 to assist local officials and first responders in Oklahoma following Monday's tornado outbreak.
Obama signed a disaster declaration for Oklahoma on Monday night a White House statement said. The declaration means federal emergency aid will supplement local recovery efforts.
Storm damage has been reported in Cleveland County which includes Moore McClain County which includes Newcastle and Oklahoma County Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management representative Terri Watkins said.
The preliminary rating of the Moore tornado is at least EF4 (166 to 200 mph) the National Weather Service said on Monday afternoon.
Obama told Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin that the federal government stands ready to provide all available assistance as part of the response to a series of deadly storms that have struck the Oklahoma City area including Monday's devastating tornado.
Tornado brings back terrible memories of 1999
A White House statement said the Federal Emergency Management Agency has deployed a team to assist state operations and additional personnel are ready to be dispatched as necessary. Obama told Fallin that the people of Oklahoma are in the first family's thoughts and prayers the statement said.
About 38 000 customers of utility OGE were without power in metropolitan Oklahoma City after Monday afternoon's storm utility spokesman Brian Alford said.
Alford also said the storm knocked out power to the Oklahoma City area's Draper Water Treatment Plant.
Rescuers search through rubble in Shawnee Oklahoma on Monday May 20. A tornado outbreak hit in the Midwest and Plains on Sunday and Monday the deadliest hitting Moore Oklahoma on Monday. Massive piles of debris cover the ground after a powerful tornado ripped through Moore Oklahoma on May 20. View photos related to the Moore tornado. A deadly tornado destroys cars and demolishes structures in the town of Moore near Oklahoma City on Monday May 20. A volunteer helps clean up a mobile home on May 20 after it was overturned on a day earlier near Shawnee Oklahoma. Jean McAdams' mobile home near Shawnee Oklahoma lies overturned on May 20. President Barack Obama talks on the phone with Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin from the Oval Office on May 20. The president expressed his concern for those who have been affected by the severe weather. Tom and Ronda Clark get help with cleanup on May 20 after their property near Shawnee was damaged by a tornado on May 19. Lonnie Langston says his garage was swept off the concrete pad next to his house by a tornado near Shawnee. Shawnee residents embrace on May 20 as they search through the remains of their home. A home in Shawnee sits in ruin after being hit by a tornado on Sunday May 19. A twister stretches toward the ground near South Haven Kansas on May 19. Residents repair the roof of a neighbor's damaged house after a tree fell on it in Shawnee on May 19. A woman waits to be allowed back to her home after a tornado swept through Shawnee on May 19. Storm chaser and videographer Brad Mack records a tornado touchdown in South Haven Kansas on May 19. A tractor trailer lies on its side on Interstate 40 while another is broken open on the road below after falling from the overpass after a tornado strike near Highway 177 north of Shawnee on May 19. A tornado touches down near Wichita Kansas on Sunday May 19. Debris from a mobile home park west of Shawnee litters the ground on May 19. An estimated 300 homes were damaged or destroyed across Oklahoma Red Cross spokesman Ken Garcia said. Lightning strikes in Clearwater Kansas on May 19. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Photos Tornadoes wreak havoc in Midwest Man found neighbor trapped after tornado Residents survey damage count blessings Bill Nye It's going to happen again
OGE is working to restore power to the plant. City officials are asking residents to turn off their sprinkler systems and postpone washing dishes and clothes according to a message on the city government's website.
Country music star and Moore native Toby Keith said in a written statement This storm has devastated the community that I grew up in. I rode my bike through those neighborhoods. I have family and friends in Moore. My heart and prayers go to those that have lost so much. But Moore is strong and we will persevere. God be with you all.
Interstate 35 in Moore was closed as a result of debris from the tornado that hit the area Monday afternoon Oklahoma Department of Transportation spokesman Cole Hackett said. Crews were headed to the north south highway to start the cleanup process Hackett said.
People are trapped. You are going to see the devastation for days to come Betsy Randolph a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol told CNN late Monday afternoon. She did not say how many people were trapped. Send your prayers heavenward because there are people fighting for their lives.
Heartbreaking scenes in Oklahoma City area after twister
The National Guard has been activated in response to the tornado Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman Ann Lee said.
Will Rogers World Airport reopened around at about 6 p.m. ET spokeswoman Karen Carney said. All flights are delayed and at least six flights have been canceled she said.
Lance West a reporter for CNN affiliate KFOR said people late Monday afternoon were pulling students from a classroom at an elementary school heavily damaged by the tornado that hit Moore. There are no immediate reports on the condition of the children.
Congressman Tom Cole who lives in Moore told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Monday afternoon the damage he saw on TV looks as bad as a 1999 tornado that destroyed more than 1 000 houses in his hometown.
McClain County Undersheriff Bill Shobe reported Monday afternoon there is significant damage near Newcastle Oklahoma. Shobe went on to say there are a lot of structures with damage north of Newcastle and in the town of Tuttle. Most of the damage is parallel to Highway 37 he said.
Moore Medical Center in Oklahoma was evacuated after it sustained damage from the tornado a hospital spokeswoman told CNN's Sarah Baker. All patients are being evacuated to Norman Regional Hospital and Health Plex Hospital and residents injured in the storm are being told to go to those centers as well.
A tornado struck Moore Oklahoma south of Oklahoma City on Monday afternoon ripping apart homes and other buildings in populated areas. The National Weather Service issued a rare tornado emergency for the Oklahoma City metropolitan area meaning that significant and widespread damage and fatalities were likely.
CNN's AnneClaire Stapleton contributed to this report.
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