A mile-wide tornado slammed into Oklahoma City on Monday, causing major damage throughout the city and nearby suburbs. Local news station KFOR reports that the greatest damage occurred in the nearby city of Moore, where hundreds of homes and two schools were destroyed during the 40 minutes that the tornado touched ground.

Earlier in the day, five states had been under tornado watch, as the National Weather Service was tracking "a large and extremely dangerous" tornado just west of Moore, with hail that was as large as tennis balls. The watch is still in effect. This is the second straight day that large tornadoes have hit Oklahoma, as a 200-mph tornado killed two on Sunday.

Two of the sites that received a direct hit from the tornado were Briarwood Elementary School and Plaza Towers Elementary School. Plaza Towers was flattened and Briarwood was severely hit. KFOR reports that children in grades K-3 had been sheltered in Plaza Towers when the tornado hit. Emergency crews are working to pull them from the site, according to the Associated Press. Police officials confirm that seven children have been found dead.

According to USA Today, at least 120 have been injured and 51 have been confirmed dead. Both counts are expected to rise. Other sites with major damage in Moore include a hospital with its roof ripped off and a water treatment plant knocked offline, the latter resulting in city officials advising residents in southeastern Oklahoma City to stop using water. In addition, a spokesman from utility company OG&E says that 38,000 customers were left without power. The White House released a statement saying that FEMA has deployed a team to assist state emergency crews.

In 1999, a record-breaking tornado hit Moore at speeds of 318 mph. It is the fastest tornado ever to touch the ground. The storm killed 36 people and caused $1 billion in damages.

 

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