UPDATE: Tornado Season Rears its Ugly Head in Moore

MOORE, Okla. (AP) – Gov. Mary Fallin says an Oklahoma suburb that was devastated by a deadly tornado will be rebuilt.

At least 24 people, including nine children, were killed in the massive tornado that flattened homes and a school in Moore, Okla., on Monday afternoon.

Fallin told a Tuesday news conference that she doesn’t know how many people are still missing following the tornado.

She says: "We will rebuild and we will regain our strength."

MOORE, Okla. (AP) – The state medical examiner’s office has revised the death toll from a tornado in an Oklahoma City suburb to 24 people, including nine children.

Spokeswoman Amy Elliott said Tuesday morning that she believes some victims were counted twice in the early chaos of the storm. Authorities said initially that as many as 51 people were dead, including 20 children.

Elliott says she expects the numbers to climb.

Teams are continuing to search the rubble in Moore, 10 miles south of Oklahoma City.

OKLAHOMA TORNADO-INJURIES

Hospitals treat more than 200 after Okla. tornado

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Hospital officials say they’ve treated more than 200 patients, including dozens of children, since a tornado ripped through suburban Oklahoma City.

About 20 patients remained at one hospital Tuesday, but it isn’t clear how many patients remained at another facility.

Spokeswoman Brooke Cayot (KAY’-ot) says Integris Southwest Medical Center has seen 90 patients, including five children who have been released. About 20 people remain hospitalized there.

OU Medical Center spokesman Scott Coppenbarger says 85 people, including 50 children, came to his hospital and an affiliated children’s hospital for treatment. He does not know how many have been released.

St. Anthony Hospital spokeswoman Sandra Payne says her hospital and two regional facilities have seen 35 patients, including 14 children. Thirty-two patients have been released. Three children were transferred elsewhere.

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Barack Obama has declared a major disaster in Oklahoma as the state recovers from a massive tornado that ripped through the Oklahoma City suburbs Monday, killing dozens and flattening entire neighborhoods.

Obama has ordered federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts. Individuals and business owners affected by the disaster may apply for federal grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs.

The president promised federal assistance in a phone conversation earlier Monday with Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin (FAL’-ihn). The Federal Emergency Management Agency has sent a special team to Oklahoma’s emergency operations center to help out and dispatch resources.

SEVERE WEATHER-TORNADO SPEED

NWS: Okla. tornado had winds up to 200 mph

MOORE, Okla. (AP) – The National Weather Service says the tornado that hit Moore, Okla., had wind speeds up to 200 mph.

The weather service’s preliminary classification of Monday afternoon’s tornado was an EF-4 on the enhanced Fujita scale.

Authorities say emergency crews are working to rescue people trapped in Moore, which is southwest of Oklahoma City.

Oklahoma City Police Capt. Dexter Nelson said emergency crews are trying to reach the affected areas. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

The suburb of Moore was hit hard by a tornado in 1999. The storm had the highest winds ever recorded near the earth’s surface.

SEVERE WEATHER-OKLAHOMA-HIGHWAYS

Okla. highways reopened after Moore tornado

MOORE, Okla. (AP) – Oklahoma highway officials say Interstate 35 in Moore has reopened in both directions.

But the Transportation Department said late Monday that travel in the Moore area was still discouraged.

The agency said first responders, utility crews and others performing official duties are working in the area and need clear lanes of travel.

The department says no other highways are closed due to the storms.