Tornado recreates the 'Twister' movie

Frantic rescue and search operations are underway for the deadly tornado that swept through Oklahoma City in US on Tuesday A Meanwhile the medical examiner's office in Oklahoma City revised the death toll to at least 24. Earlier reports had said that at least 91 were feared dead, including 20 children. Two hospitals confirmed they were treating a total of 120 injured, including about 50 children. The Moore City Police Department said it was impossible to put a final number on fatalities because there was still so much area to search, but officials expected the worst. Hundreds of rescue personnel were pressed into service, as the devastating tornado packing winds flattened almost the entire city of Moore. "The whole city looks like a debris field," said Mayor Glenn Lewis of Moore, which appeared to be hardest hit by the tornado. Several school children were reportedly trapped in a pair of elementary school, which after the tornado, piled into a 10 feet high debris.

"Our hearts are broken for parents who are wondering about the state of their children," said Governor Mary Fallin at a emergency press conference on Monday. US President Barack Obama spoke with Fallin to express his concern for those who have been affected by the severe weather beginning on Monday night and continuing on Tuesday. The local media reported heartbreaking scenes in the tornado hit areas. This tornado is being compared to the devastating, record-breaking May 3, 1999 tornado that ravaged the same area years ago," local KFOR news channel said. "This is war-zone terrible," Jon Welsh, a helicopter pilot for KFOR who lives in Moore, said while surveying the damage from the air. "This school is completely gone," he added. Tornadoes were also reported on Sunday in Iowa, Kansas and Oklahoma as part of a storm system that stretched from Texas to Minnesota. The National Weather Service said it was tracking a large and extremely dangerous tornado just west of Moore, the storm was moving to the northeast, and forecasters said they expected "large, destructive hail up to tennis ball size. Several children were pulled alive from the rubble of Plaza Towers Elementary, but there were no immediate reports of rescues or casualties at Briarwood Elementary.

Rescuers are going house to house and block to block to try and find any survivors that are out there and trapped, said state emergency management spokesman Jerry Lojka. "We can only imagine that there are still many others there that are unaccounted for," he said. The monster tornado, that devastated a community and destroyed a school, 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. The tornado stayed on the ground for 40 minutes and traveled 20 miles.

A man takes refuge in horse stall, survives Houston (PTI): A man, who survived the ferocious tornado that hit Oklahoma by taking refuge in a horse stall, said the storm was just like the Hollywood movie 'Twister' as he saw "horses and stuff flying around everywhere". Lando Hite was on a family farm when the massive tornado hit Moore area, when he noticed the wind pick up and walked outside to see debris flying. Hite was shirtless and muddy all over as he described what happened at the horse and entertainment farm before he took refuge in a horse stall. "It was just like the movie 'Twister'," Hite told CNN affiliate KFOR. "There were horses and stuff flying around everywhere." The tornado slammed into the Orr Family Farm, which had about 80 horses. It damaged several barns. Lando Hite said he was worried most of the animals were killed. "I tried to let some of the horses out of their stalls so that they would have a chance," said Hite, adding that he thinks may be only one of their horses survived the twister. Lando Hite said he then hid in the stall and the walls collapsed on top of him. 'Twister' is an American disaster drama film. In the 1996 film, a team of storm chasers try to perfect a data-gathering instrument, designed to be released into the funnel of a tornado, while competing with another better-funded team with a similar device during a tornado outbreak across Oklahoma. The powerful tornado swept through the Oklahoma City suburbs on Monday, leaving up to 91 people dead, including 20 children.

Obama assures supportA to tornado-hit Washington (PTI): US President Barack Obama on Tuesday assured full federal support to Oklahoma City where many areas have been devastated following the monstrous tornado that hit the region leaving at least 24 dead. "As a nation, our full focus right now is on the urgent work of rescue and the hard work of recovery and rebuilding that lies ahead," the US President said in his brief address to the nation on Tuesday morning following Monday's deadly storm. As has been the case with all major natural disasters and tragic events during his presidency, Obama was personally monitoring the rescue and relief operations and was frequently updated by his top officials. He declared a State of Emergency for Oklahoma so as to facilitate quick federal aid and this morning he spoke with the Mayor of Moore, the worst-hit town.