A massive tornado spanning two miles wide caused havoc in the Oklahoma state, killing over 90 people including 20 children as the 200 mph tornado hit the Moore suburb trapping dozens of children in school rubble.
The tornado considered to be the deadliest to hit the US directly hit Plaza Towers Elementary School on its way, flattening the building and trapping dozens of children under it.
The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center issued an alert just five minutes before the giant twister touched down at 3:01 local time on Monday. The twister has been ranked EF4 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, implying the second most powerful category of tornado.
"I have never seen anything like this in my 18 years covering tornadoes here in Oklahoma City. This is without question the most horrific," said Lance West, local television reporter, to Reuters.
Around 176 people, of which 70 are reportedly children, have been admitted in two hospitals.
Lamenting on the children's death, Governor Mary Fallin said at an emergency press conference on Monday, "Our hearts are broken for parents who are wondering about the state of their children."
Another school, Briarwood Elementary, was partially destroyed and littered with rubble.
Blocks of houses and trampled vehicles and were seen on the roads and scattered on the fields.
Electricity lines have been disrupted while the cellphone network reported of congestion.
"The whole city looks like a debris field," Glenn Lewis, the mayor of Moore, told NBC.
The death toll is likely to go up, according to officials involved in search operations for survivors.
The monster twister is said to have reached the peak of the tornado season and some more were expected to hit the state. Surrounding areas like Texas, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Illinois have a 10 percent chance of being struck by tornadoes.
