Moore, a suburb outside Oklahoma City, was ravaged by a tornado on Monday afternoon. With 321 km/h winds, it was a devastating 40 minutes. The state medical examiner’s office has said that at least 51 poeple have died with that number expected to rise as more people are unearthed.

The tornado has flattened entire neighbourhoods with some two dozen school children trapped in the rubble of their school. United States President Barack Obama has declared a major disaster in Oklahoma.

There was a 16 minute warning period before the storm hit – provided by the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center. The tornado has been ranked as an EF4 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale meaning it is the second most powerful category of tornado with wind speeds between 267 km/h to 321 km/h. The tornado was wider than Long Street is long, by 300 meters.

The mayor of Moore told NBC:

The whole city looks like a debris field. It looks like we have lost our hospital. I drove by there a while ago and it’s pretty much destroyed.

According to Terri Watkins, spokesman for the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management.

They are going to go house to house, building to building to determine whether anyone is trapped.

And watch this incredible time lapse video of the tornado.

Action News 5 – Memphis, Tennessee

Footage posted by David Massey on Twitter, the men are searching for a lost boy.  

These are pictures captured after the destruction of the tornado.

[Source: YouTube, TIME, The Telegraph, Vine]