A boy is pulled from beneath a collapsed wall at the Plaza Towers Elementary School
This aerial photo shows the remains of homes hit by a massive tornado in Moore, Oklahoma, on Monday May 20, 2013
An American flag sits among devastation after the massive twister barreled through Moore, Oklahoma
A destroyed house remains after a huge tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, near Oklahoma City
Devastation: A woman carries her child through a field near the collapsed Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Oklahoma, today after the devastating tornado
Overturned cars are seen from destruction from a huge tornado near Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
A fire burns in the Tower Plaza Addition in Moore, Oklahoma
A boy is pulled from beneath a collapsed wall at the Plaza Towers Elementary School
Survivors: A child is pulled from the rubble of the Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Oklahoma, and passed along to rescuers
Flattened: Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore before and after today's tornado
A monstrous tornado roared through the Oklahoma City suburbs, flattening entire neighborhoods with winds up to 200 mph, setting buildings on fire and landing a direct blow on an elementary school
This aerial photo shows the remains of houses in Moore after the tornado, which flattened entire neighborhoods, setting buildings on fire and landing a direct blow on an elementary school
This aerial photo shows the Moore Medical center in Moore, Oklahoma, following Monday's devastating twister
Horror: Teachers carry children away from Briarwood Elementary school after a tornado destroyed the school in south Oklahoma City
This aerial photo shows the remains of homes hit by a massive tornado in Moore, Oklahoma, on Monday
Teachers carry children away from Briarwood Elementary school after a tornado destroyed the school in south Oklahoma City
People look through the wreckage of their neighborhood after the tornado devastated the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore on Monday
President Barack Obama called to offer any kind of assistance to the devastated areas and declared that a disaster exists in the State of Oklahoma, Governor Fallin said, adding that three search and rescue teams with dogs from out of state were coming to help. She told Oklahomans to 'stay away and let the our search and rescue teams and families get in there'.
The President's action makes federal funding available to affected individuals in the counties of Cleveland, Lincoln, McClain, Oklahoma, and Pottawatomie.
Many land lines to stricken areas were down and cellphone traffic was congested. Poor cell phone reception was making it difficult for frantic families to connect with each other but a website Safeandwell.com has been set up to assist people who fear for their loved ones.
A reporter said they asked a paramedic about the injured at Plaza Towers, and the medic 'just shook his head'.
Briarwood Elementary was also entirely flattened after staff sent an email to parents at 2.45pm to say that the school was on lockdown and they would be holding the children at the campus until the storm had passed. At 5pm local time, authorities said all the children were accounted for.
A meteorologist for KFOR branded the aftermath 'the worst tornado damage in the history of the world'.
Young survivors described how they huddled together with their teachers in the girls' and boys' bathroom and how the brave adults tried to keep the kids calm as the massive storm rolled over them. Others said they clung to walls.
'I had to hold onto the walls to keep myself safe because I didn't want to fly away with the tornado,' a young boy, probably around six-years-old, told KFOR.
Homes have been reduced to piles of trash, with at least 8,000 people without power. Experts warned that there could be multiple casualties after the storm, which had traveled east at around 160mph.
A KFOR reporter says that doctors told her of looting at the hospital damaged by the tornado.
In video of the storm, the dark funnel cloud could be seen marching slowly across the green landscape. As it churned through the community, the twister scattered shards of wood, pieces of insulation, awnings, shingles and glass all over the streets.
A teacher hugs a child at Briarwood Elementary school after a tornado destroyed the school in south Oklahoma City
Overturned cars are seen after a huge tornado touched down in the town of Moore
Debris: Rescuers dug through mountains of debris at Plaza Towers Elementary School
Heroes: Rescue workers dig through the rubble of a collapsed wall at the Plaza Tower Elementary School to free trapped students
Brave: A boy is pulled from beneath a collapsed wall at the Plaza Towers Elementary School following a tornado in Moore, Oklahoma
Fear: A child calls to his father after being pulled from the rubble of the Tower Plaza Elementary School
Brave teachers: A woman is pulled out from under tornado debris at the Plaza Towers School in Moore
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