Spokeswoman Amy Elliott says the death toll is again expected to rise. Elliott says children are among those killed by the storm.

The city of Moore, Okla., was hit by a mile-wide tornado on Monday afternoon. The National Weather Service says it had winds up to 200 mph.

Officials say a small hospital in Moore was damaged by Monday afternoon’s tornado.

The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman Keli Cain says the Moore Medical Center sustained damage.

Cain also said the hospital was evacuated and all 13 patients were transferred to other facilities.

Cain said she didn’t know the conditions of the patients or the extent of the damage at the hospital, which is southwest of Oklahoma City.

From WGHP-MyFox8

At least 20 of the dead were children, including at least seven from Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, which lay directly in the path of the monster storm’s wall of wind.
Seventy-five students and staff members had been huddled at the school when the tornado hit, CNN affiliate KFOR reported.
As nightfall descended, determined searchers in hard hats dug in the debris for those possibly trapped, but authorities described the work as a recovery, not rescue, effort. Search lights illuminated their efforts.

Live news updates are available at KFOR.

Information on assisting victims:

KFOR – How to help tornado victims

Viral Read – Red Cross plus local media information H/T Becca Lower (@BeccaJLower)

Huffington Post

Early video footage from KFOR:

May 20, 2013 tornado that struck Moore, Oklahoma

For the second day in a row, Central Oklahoma was hit with severe weather and deadly tornadoes. Moore, Oklahoma is no stranger to the danger of tornadoes. On May 3, 1999, the city of Moore, which is just South of Oklahoma City, was devastated by an EF5 tornado that killed 46 people. The tornado today, which followed a strikingly similar path, has already been estimated at least an EF4, and reportedly already has a higher death toll. It may be days before we have an official number of fatalities.

As rescue efforts continue, and families wait to be reunited, the residents of Oklahoma City and surrounding areas have rallied to provide for the victims of this devastating storm. Several area locations have set up donation centers, and the response from the community has been overwhelming. Local news channel 9 ( KWTV) set up a donation center a their station and, at the time of this writing, volunteers were still unloading donated water, shovels, nonperishable food, clothing and more from the generous residents in their viewing area.

To assist: Text: STORM to 80888 for Salvation Army. Text REDCROSS to 90999 for Redcross. Text FOOD to 32333 for Reg. Food Bank.

America’s thoughts and prayers are with the people of Moore tonight, and the images below should serve to remind that kindness and compassion abound. ‘Merica.

Line to donate at Channel 9 News collection center

Another tornado hit the city of Ennis, in Ellis County and Steve Howerton, the city manager and emergency management coordinator, released the following map showing the path of that tornado.

Ennis Tornado

Individuals with family or friends in the area are encouraged to use the following emergency contacts offered by DallasNews.com:

A phone bank was established for those looking for friends and family members in Hood County. Call (682) 498-8010. Alternatively, you can list yourself as “Safe & Well” or search for others that have listed themselves at the Safe & Well website operated by the American Red Cross.

Those who believe they may have a family member or friend at Lake Granbury Medical Center are being asked to call 817-579-2888.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has launched a Disaster Distress Helpline at 1-800-985-5990 to provide immediate crisis counseling to people affected by the violent storms across northern Texas.

Contact the Granbury Animal Clinic at (817) 573-5553 to see if a lost pet has been recovered.

New developments will be added as needed.

When Hurricane Katrina, a massive category 3 storm, hit the Gulf coast, politicians could do nothing but blame the sitting president for slow relief response. There was no blaming relief groups, the poor judgement of a city mayor that didn’t forcefully stress evacuation, the lacking effort on the part of citizens to prepare or the inadequate provisions made by local leaders at the Superdome. Nope, all the blame was heaped on President Bush.

Now, a force one storm hits the Northeast – a tragedy for sure – and the blame is placed squarely on .. the Red Cross? While the Red Cross is not as efficient as charities such as the Christian-based Salvation Army, they didn’t cause the storm – just as George Bush didn’t cause Katrina. Neither the Red Cross nor the former President forced those people to stay in the wake of the storm instead of evacuating – and they all had ample warning.

On Friday morning, Borough President James Molinaro decided to boisterously attack the Red Cross for not providing food and water fast enough for those that stayed in the city as he pleaded, “Where was the Red Cross? Isn’t that their function? They collect millions of dollars.”

Most reasonable people would have thought that those individuals, having heard that a massive storm of historic proportions, would have left the city knowing that food, water and electricity would not be available for days if not weeks. If they didn’t want to leave, perhaps they should have gathered 7-10 days worth of water and food as many news outlets had suggested.

The Red Cross is clearly not where the blame should be focused nor should it be placed on the President. The people that decided to ride out the “frankenstorm” or “storm of the century” or “monster storm” should shoulder the entirety of the blame for failing to take care of themselves and their families.

Now we see New Yorkers dumpster diving, Mayor Bloomberg trying desperately to shuttle food and water into the projects and leaders looking for anyone else to blame. Heck.. the mayor went so far as to tack on a charge against global warming – as if that was why citizens in his city were struggling. Wasn’t he the one that decided to only evacuate a small portion of the city?

The hypocrisy is thick as we watch political figures attack the Red Cross for this storm after having laid the blame on President Bush for the last. When is the blame to be placed on the individuals who clearly made the poor choices to both stay in the path of the storm and to have no provisions ready when it came?

** story has been updated as the original incorrectly identified James Molinaro as a member of the Democratic party.

As Hurricane Sandy begins to weaken and pass, cleanup efforts and relief are needed.  Here is how you can help through the American Red Cross.

NOTE – Only use reputable charities and organizations in order to avoid scams.

FINANCIAL HELP

Financial donations help the Red Cross provide shelter, food, emotional support and other assistance to those affected by disasters like Hurricane Sandy. To donate, people can visit www.redcross.org , call 1-800-RED-CROSS, or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Contributions may also be sent to someone’s local Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013.

The Salvation Army is also accepting donations for Hurricane Sandy relief efforts.  You can donate online by clicking on the following link: https://donate.salvationarmyusa.org/disaster

Also with the Salvation Army, you can contact your local branch HERE to find out if items are needed such as food, clothing, children’s toys, or other goods.

NON-MONETARY HELP

You can also help in non-financial ways.  To donate blood or platelets, please go to the American Red Cross Blood website:  http://www.redcrossblood.org/make-donation now to find a location near you where you can help.

RED CROSS APPS

More than 235,000 people have downloaded the free Red Cross Hurricane App Friday when Sandy began approaching, making it one of the most popular free apps. The app gives up-to-date weather alerts, information on open Red Cross shelters, a toolkit with a flashlight, strobe light and alarm and a one-touch “I’m Safe” button that lets someone use social media outlets to let family and friends know they are okay.

People have been using the app to find shelters, to set up locations for the app to monitor, to make a disaster plan, and learn what steps they can take to stay safe. The app is available in Spanish just by changing the smart phone setting to Spanish before downloading.

The First Aid app puts expert advice for everyday emergencies in a person’s hand. Both can be found in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store for Android by searching for American Red Cross.

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Two towns, Marysville and Henryville, Indiana were hit hardest. Marysville’s Sheriff Adams said that “Marysville is completely gone”. Aerial footage from the Red Cross confirms the scope of the damage in Henryville.