Rescue crews resumed searching the rubble left in the wake of a devastating tornado that leveled a school as officials expected the death toll to keep rising.
"Our focus right now is to recover bodies from the rubble," Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb said from the scene early Tuesday. "I'm confident there will be more."
President Barack Obama made available federal disaster assistance on Monday for five Oklahoma counties after tornadoes ripped through the state, resulting in dozens of fatalities.
The State Medical Examiner's Office were notified of 51 deaths during early phases of the recovery efforts yesterday, said spokeswoman Amy Elliott.
As of Tuesday morning, 24 victims had been transported to their Oklahoma City office. A "vast majority" of victims in the Medical Examiner's custody have been identified and are ready to be returned to their loved ones, Elliot said.
Reports that up to 40 additional deaths are expected are unconfirmed rumors at this point, said Alex Weintz, a spokesman for Gov. Mary Fallin.
"The official number right now is 51... I definitely can't confirm anything higher than that... We know there’s a potential for there to be more deaths."
A search continues for children at an elementary school that collapsed, he said.
"They last night they took a brief respite because it was dark (and) they weren’t able to work. I believe they are back out there looking."
Weintz said there appears to be little hope of recovering children alive from the school given the damage at the site.
While Lamb expects the death toll to rise, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol is hopeful the number of survivors found will rise as well.
The OHP reported 101 people were found alive overnight.
"We’re very confident of finding more people alive today,” said Trooper Betsy Randolph.
Weintz said Fallin is meeting with cabinet officials later this morning and may take a tour of the damage zone by helicopter later today.
Lincoln, McClain, Oklahoma and Pottawatomie counties are named in the disaster declaration as well as Cleveland County, where more than 20 schoolchildren are missing and feared dead from a Moore elementary school.
Starting at Plaza Towers Elementary after dark Monday, search teams fanned out across the ruble, stretching for blocks in every direction.
Their feet sank ankle-deep in the mud. Tripped over power lines. Stumbled into pot holes.
One firefighter walked into a big puddle. But when he pointed a flashlight down at his boots, he could see a patch of red in the water.
Blood could mean a victim. So the team converged on the closest pile of debris. Peering into crevices. Peaking into cracks. Lifting boards.
Nobody spoke.
Two helicopters circled overhead, searchlights scanning the ground.
To the north, National Guard troops stood on top of the ruble at the school and scooped up orange buckets of debris.
To the south, the steeple of Abundant Life United Pentecostal poked into the sky, silhouetted by lightening.
A front loader scooped up chunks of a wall, part of the roof and some dining room chairs.
But the search team found nothing but more ruble underneath. So they moved on to the next pile.
At midnight in a cul de sac, the teams regrouped under the glare of a portable floodlight.
They drank bottled water and replaced the batteries in their flashlights.
But still, nobody spoke, except the captain who explained the new assignments.
And after a few minutes, they fanned out again across the ruble, still searching into the early morning hours.
The number of people injured exceeded 120 late Monday, according to the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management.
Source : TulsaWorld, SkyNews
"Our focus right now is to recover bodies from the rubble," Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb said from the scene early Tuesday. "I'm confident there will be more."
President Barack Obama made available federal disaster assistance on Monday for five Oklahoma counties after tornadoes ripped through the state, resulting in dozens of fatalities.
The State Medical Examiner's Office were notified of 51 deaths during early phases of the recovery efforts yesterday, said spokeswoman Amy Elliott.
As of Tuesday morning, 24 victims had been transported to their Oklahoma City office. A "vast majority" of victims in the Medical Examiner's custody have been identified and are ready to be returned to their loved ones, Elliot said.
Reports that up to 40 additional deaths are expected are unconfirmed rumors at this point, said Alex Weintz, a spokesman for Gov. Mary Fallin.
"The official number right now is 51... I definitely can't confirm anything higher than that... We know there’s a potential for there to be more deaths."
A search continues for children at an elementary school that collapsed, he said.
"They last night they took a brief respite because it was dark (and) they weren’t able to work. I believe they are back out there looking."
Weintz said there appears to be little hope of recovering children alive from the school given the damage at the site.
While Lamb expects the death toll to rise, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol is hopeful the number of survivors found will rise as well.
The OHP reported 101 people were found alive overnight.
"We’re very confident of finding more people alive today,” said Trooper Betsy Randolph.
Weintz said Fallin is meeting with cabinet officials later this morning and may take a tour of the damage zone by helicopter later today.
Lincoln, McClain, Oklahoma and Pottawatomie counties are named in the disaster declaration as well as Cleveland County, where more than 20 schoolchildren are missing and feared dead from a Moore elementary school.
Starting at Plaza Towers Elementary after dark Monday, search teams fanned out across the ruble, stretching for blocks in every direction.
Their feet sank ankle-deep in the mud. Tripped over power lines. Stumbled into pot holes.
One firefighter walked into a big puddle. But when he pointed a flashlight down at his boots, he could see a patch of red in the water.
Blood could mean a victim. So the team converged on the closest pile of debris. Peering into crevices. Peaking into cracks. Lifting boards.
Nobody spoke.
Two helicopters circled overhead, searchlights scanning the ground.
To the north, National Guard troops stood on top of the ruble at the school and scooped up orange buckets of debris.
To the south, the steeple of Abundant Life United Pentecostal poked into the sky, silhouetted by lightening.
A front loader scooped up chunks of a wall, part of the roof and some dining room chairs.
But the search team found nothing but more ruble underneath. So they moved on to the next pile.
At midnight in a cul de sac, the teams regrouped under the glare of a portable floodlight.
They drank bottled water and replaced the batteries in their flashlights.
But still, nobody spoke, except the captain who explained the new assignments.
And after a few minutes, they fanned out again across the ruble, still searching into the early morning hours.
The number of people injured exceeded 120 late Monday, according to the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management.
Source : TulsaWorld, SkyNews
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