The estimated death toll for the giant tornado that ripped through Moore, Oklahoma on Monday was drastically lowered today. While earlier reports had at least 51 people dead, including 20 children, the numbers have been revised to 24 confirmed dead, including 9 children.
State officials announced this morning that fewer people had been killed than previously thought, with a spokesperson for the state medical examiner’s office saying in a news conference that some of the victims had been counted twice. While certainly no death toll could be considered a good thing, a reduced number of deaths is a bright spot in an otherwise ghastly ordeal.
Emergency personnel continue to search for victims, including two dozen missing children from an elementary school that was destroyed.
Google has launched a crisis map, providing resources for those affected by the storm.
Photos and videos of the tornado and its destruction have flooded social media, giving the whole world a glimpse of the terror that ripped through the area. Here, you can see a video of the storm forming in Newcastle, OK. In this one, a woman finds her missing dog in the rubble while being interviewed by CBS.
Image via reddit