Doug Westhoff News Today

Route Z, between East Rob Cook Road and East Timmons Road, is back open as of around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to county fire officials.

Route Z, between East Rob Cook Road and East Timmons Road, is back open as of around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to county fire officials.

Missouri Task Force 1 returned home to Columbia Thursday after a relief mission in Mayfield, Kentucky.

The clock here in terms of the bad weather coming later today? >> were working against the clock all the time, both for the survivability profile, and the forecast for the bad weather. so, yeah, were always under the gun for that. we had to shelter our folks a few times yesterday, just based on the lightning strikes and the hail and rain and that sort of stuff, just makes it impossible to move around and do it safely. >> reporter: time is running out, and theres still so much to do. doug westhof...

Those slabs. >> reporter: do you think theyre still alive? >> i think its unlikely. >> reporter: doug westhoff is the task force leader. >> we had people coming by, had indication they were in the store, potentially underneath those slabs. one gentleman knew that his son-in-laws and grandkids were in all likelihood in that store and he waited around all day. >> reporter: mortuary teams wait around, but search and rescue personnel still hope to find someone alive. >> the dogs are trained to searc...

>> oh, weve got lightning. we need to go back. lets turn around. >> oh, its getting big, big, big. >> thats huge! >> for those who survived, the scars will always be them. nearly two dozen people, including three young men, took cover in a convenience store in a walk-in beer cooler. one turned on his camera as the tornado struck. the video is dark, but the sound tells a story. >> oh! [ wind blowing ] >> oh, my god! >> jesus, jesus! >> imagine pushing open the door after that incredible...

Profile and the forecast for the bad weather. so yeah, were always under the gun for that. we had to shelter our folks a few times yesterday just based on the lightning strikes and the hail and rain, it just makes it impossible to do it safely. >> time is running out, and theres still so much to do. doug westhoff is trying to be optimistic. >> if the space is right, if the void is big enough, people can last many days like this. so were two to three days into this thing and were sort of the eter...

People still inside? >> we have indications from our canine alerts that yeah. we have some people still inside. >> do you think they may be alive? >> i think its unlikely theyre alive. >> doug westhoff is the task force leader. >> we had people coming by yesterday recognizing vehicles on the lot of their loved ones and knew in all likelihood that they were in the store or potentially underneath those slabs. and one knew that his son-in-law and two grand kids were in all likelihood in that store....

To probe in from different places. >> with so much heavy equipment needed, the search is sometimes frustratingly slow. how much are you working against the clock in terms of bad weather coming later today? >> were working against the clock all the time, both for the survivability profile and the forecast for the bad weather. so yeah, were always under the gun for that. we had to shelter our folks a few times yesterday just based on the lightning strikes and the hail and rain, it just makes it im...

of 8,000 structures were damaged or destroyed. nearly two dozen people, including three young men, took cover at a convenience store. the video is dark, but the audio, the sounds tell a story. >> oh, my god! [ screaming ] >> imagine pushing open the door after that incredible experience. elsewhere in joplin, one couple recorded the scene moments after the tornado struck. destruction all around them, homes on fire. they called out for the young mans sister and fiance. >> sarah! sarah, m...